By Any Other Name
by Xeraphan
Summary: Is still as sweet. But he's in a different world. Can that saying still hold true? And can he make it home? Guess you'll have to find out. I don't own RWBY or any of their stuff. Go support the official release. Some semi-strong language for people who don't pay CoD or watch YouTube.
1. The Boy from the Sky

**Author's Note: Hey hey hey! How's it hangin', folks? Welcome to the first chapter of my RWBY fanfiction, By Any Other Name. This intro chapter will be that, an introduction. To the characters, locations, etc. However, for people who have never seen RWBY, I highly suggest you go and watch up to at least Season 2, just so you have a better understanding of the characters who AREN'T my OCs. Kay? Good. Let's hope right on in.**

I landed hard on a platform that was at the edge of a tall cliff I didn't notice during my fall. About twenty seconds after I hit the stone, I felt about a hundred or so eyes on me as I went from face-on-ground to sitting. When I looked around, a few people stood out. Two blondes, three raven hairs, a ginger, a white haired girl, and a redhead. ' _Ah hells….'_ I suddenly remembered what happened, and frantically reached for my greatsword and knife. When I felt both hilts, I sighed in relief, only to find all of the people around me on their guard. Well, most of them. The one natural raven hair girl and the blonde girl seemed unfazed. ' _Well, I do seem to be in a pickle here.'_

"It would appear as though we have an unexpected- and uninvited- visitor." I turned around to find the most intimidating man staring at me. White hair, thin brown eyes, and a purple cross on his collar. "All new and returning students, please follow Ms. Goodwitch into the auditorium. I will give the Opening Speech once I have dealt with our guest."

I watched as the students milled around the man and I. ' _Dealt with? Oh gods, what does he mean by that?'_ But, I worried WAAAAY too much, I guess. "Um… I know you've got places to be and things to do but-"

"You have questions." Blunt and short. This man means business, I suppose. "My name is Ozpin, and I'm a professor at this school, Beacon Academy. This is where we train potential Hunters and Huntresses to fight the monsters that dot this world, Grimm."

I nodded, and for some reason, raised my hand. When he nodded once, I spoke. "Professor Ozpin, I appreciate the information, but where am I? What is this place?" I felt him contemplate what to say next, felt him realize I'm not from this world.

"You are currently in the world of Remnant, in the kingdom of Vale. I don't believe you gave your name, young man." His voice commanded respect, something I'm somewhat inclined to give.

"My name is Tsukino Shinoha, and I'm from a world called Coronexia. I was part of a large scale battle when I was dropped onto your front door, Professor." I'm not this formal, even with my higher ups. What the hells is going on?

He closed his eyes, and took a sip of something from the mug he was holding, processing what I said. "You're a warrior, then. I'm not sure how you got here, but as long as you are, would you like to join Beacon Academy?" He looked me in the eyes, and I could see so much of this man and his past. But the thing I was most concerned about was his sincerity, which he had plenty of.

I thought about it for a moment. I help people, that was my life. But I'm in a strange world, surrounded by strange people, with strange laws. I grinned. "I accept, Professor Ozpin."

"Good. You should note that most of the educational processes may be different from what you're used to. We prefer the hands on approach, and we emphasize teamwork. As such, we will be having an 'initiation', if you will." The words flowed from him as though he's explained this so many times. It was incredible to see this man, who seemed so human, to talk with such autonomy. "We will assess your skills in this initiation and from there we will form your Hunter team, with whom you will go on missions to slay Grimm for the rest of your time at Beacon and beyond. Do you understand so far?"

"Professor, I don't work with people. I've never had a team. Never really needed one before. Now, I'd be happy to be assistance for another team, but I do not want my own team. My only 'team mates' have been my sword, Silver Lining, and my butcher's knife. They've kept me alive for years." I didn't want to insult him or offend him or make him think I was a moody child who wanted to do things their way, but it was true. I had been a loner for a long time, and party members slowed me down.

Ozpin looked troubled by my statement. "Why?" he asked. It was a confusing question.

"W… Why, what, sir?" I responded hesitantly. His voice seemed more intimidating than before.

"Why do you not want to join a team, Mr. Shinoha?" Oh. That was easy. "And you cannot say you have never needed one before."

"I'm strong on my own, and all the times I've been with a group, they slow me down. The only priority in battle for me is my own life. With a team, I have to worry about the lives of my teammates as well. It's a distraction, and I can't perform at my best." I said slowly, hoping that what I said made sense.

Ozpin nodded. "I understand where you're coming from. However, say you went down to an enemy. Who would back you up? Without a team, you may be fast and powerful, yes, but you would be doomed if you were defeated in battle."

I sighed. He has a point. "Fine. If whatever the criteria is for team selection gets met, I'll oblige." I stood up, looking at Ozpin eye to eye. "So… which way is the auditorium, Professor?"

As I walked into the room, I felt all eyes turn to me. I sat at the very back, blowing all of them off. As if any of them could be my teammates. I watched Ozpin walk up onto the stage, clear his throat through the mic, and all of the eyes on me snapped to him.

Ruby and Yang looked at one another as they went to the amphitheater/assembly room/auditorium. Then Ruby piped up in a whisper. "Whoa! Did you see that? He looked so cool!"

Yang nodded in agreement. "Did you see that sheath on his back? That thing is gigantic! I'd be willin' to bet it's about as big as your weapon, sis. He's got to be pretty strong to use a sword like that, ya know? And that other sheath looked like it was holding a butcher's knife. I wanna fight him so badly now!"

Ruby giggled a little bit. "Jeez, sis. You're always picking fights. But I kinda want to take a crack at him too." When she listened close enough, she could hear others talking about the guy as well. The whole school must be talking about him!

When everyone finally got settled into their seats, the gossip started up again. Ruby was separated from Yang, but she ended up next to a girl with an adorable little bowtie in her hair and her nose stuck in a book. "Hi there! I'm Ruby, what's your name?" Ruby asked cheerily, hoping to make a new friend.

"Blake. And if you don't mind, I'm trying to read." she responded, sounding bored and annoyed at the same time. Ruby backed off, a little upset now.

"Oh… Sorry, I didn't mean t-"

"It's fine. I shouldn't have been rude to you." She closed her book. "It's nice to meet you, Ruby." She held out a hand. Ruby grabbed her hand and shook it, smiling.

Ruby let go, and sighed. "It's crazy, you know? Being here, with all of these people. I never thought I would be here so soon. And then that boy shows up out of nowhere, and that's the only thing people seemed to be talking about."

Blake nodded slightly. "Yes, it is strange. But by the looks of things, he isn't from here. He looks like he fell from the sky. There weren't any aircrafts flying over the school, we would've seen them coming in. I wonder how he managed to get that high without wings or jumping from a plane?" When Blake looked back over to Ruby, she saw Ruby had the blankest 'Confused' look on her face. "I lost you, didn't I?"

Ruby nodded. "Little bit, yeah." She responded a little nervously. To be honest, once Blake started talking about planes, Ruby got lost. But Blake seemed pretty confident, so Ruby just nodded. Suddenly, the doors opened again, and in walks the boy, unharmed and laid back. Ruby started to get up when she noticed Professor Ozpin walk on stage. ' _Hi Professor! Can't move yet, Mister Skyfall.'_

"Hello, students. As most of you know by now, I am Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy. Today, you have arrived fresh from your years at combat schools. Some are here by skill alone. And others… by fate." Ozpin said, watching as every collective mind thought ' _THAT GUY GOT IN!?'_ He cleared his throat. "As I was saying, you're all here because you have decided that you wish to become Hunters and Huntresses. Here at Beacon Academy, we strive to make sure that our students know of every possible path to defeating the Grimm, and keeping the lives of innocent people safe." The room was silent as a house on Christmas night. Ozpin looked at the many attentive faces and allowed himself a small smile. "Tomorrow, we will hold our orientation and you will be assigned to your team. For now, you all will be sleeping the in Dining Hall. This way, you can make some allies and friends to help you through your journey at Beacon. That will be all for now, and I wish you all the best of luck."

Ozpin turned around and walked offstage to be replaced by Glynda Goodwitch, Ozpin's right hand and the Disciplinary Coordinator. "You free to explore campus grounds and the city, but be back before 10 PM. We will lock the doors then, and anyone foolish enough to be outside will be stuck there until morning. I expect you all up and ready to head into the Woods tomorrow. You are dismissed."

The whole room began buzzing with talk of plans for the day, but Ruby, along with Blake (who stuck her nose back into her book) and Yang went to follow the mystery boy from the sky. Turns out he just wandered into town, exploring the place. Curiosity was his guide, and it led him all over the place.

Suddenly, he stopped moving, and they did as well. "Do you think he saw us?" Yang whispered. Ruby shook her head. He hasn't looked behind him once, has he? Just as Ruby was about to call to him, she heard a woman scream, and someone shouted something about "Dust" and to "hand it over or else." This got all of their attention, but it looks like Mystery Boy heard it sooner, because he was running full speed toward the shouting. "Maybe we should help him," Blake suggested, "Before he gets hurt." Ruby and Yang nodded, and the trio ran after him.

I wasn't paying attention, I suppose, because I ran headlong into the white haired chick from the landing area. She looked absolutely pissed that I ran into her, but I didn't have time to deal with her right now. ' _Please let me make it in time to help them!_ ' I thought, a hand going to the hilt of Silver Lining.

I did, and it looked like a basic robbery: A game of 'Guess the Antag', goon clones totting different basic weapons, 'Give us the money or we shoot' type stuff. Nothing worth using my sword, or my knife. "Hmph. I was kinda hopin' for a challenge," I murmured as three of the goons lay unconscious. I watched the GTA winner run out with whatever those tubes were holding. "Sir, will you alright if I chase him?" I asked the owner of the shop, called 'From Dust Till Dawn'. He nodded, and I took my leave, chasing the flaming redhead in a bowler hat. "Hey, you, with the stupid hat! You owe the shop owner some canisters!" I shouted at him, which made him turn back.

"Listen, pal, it's been fun while it lasted, but.." He lifted his cane, pointed it at my head, and a scope flipped out from the end. "I think it's time we went our separate ways." He pulled the trigger, or whatever fired it, I wasn't too sure. I was too slow and couldn't block it, but someone else pushed me out of the way.

Turns out I was being followed, and the one who took the shot for me was one of the raven haired ones, a girl in a black and red dress. ' _See, Ozpin? THIS is why I don't do teammates. But, to be fair, she did kind of save my life._ ' So, with that mentality, I turned to see Bowler Hat hop onto a rooftop. "Hey Dandydick," I shouted, causing him to turn back to me. I smirked. "You missed! Whoop whoopwhoopwhoopwhoopwhoopwhoop!" I climbed up the wall of the building he was standing on, which pissed him off to end. As I landed, I drew my knife, Stained Silver, and slashed the next shot in half. "Ya know, Bowler Hat, I wasn't going to use Stained Silver OR Silver Lining, but you're forced my hand here." I snickered a little. "Get it? Because I have to use my hands to wield either blade?"

"OK, you know what, screw it. Combat plane." he said, tilting his body to the left. ' _Combat plane?_ ' I didn't understand until I saw what he meant. Bigass plane, not unlike the planes Beacon students travelled to Beacon with. Except with two very large caliber miniguns pointed straight at me. Bowler Hat smiled. "Any last words?"

"A couple," I said. "First, your hat and hair are stupid. Games of Guess the Antag must make you so triggered. Second, while you do have some pretty big guns, let me guess. You're overcompensating." Well, that set him off pretty hard.

Ruby groaned. She didn't know why she jumped in front of the boy and why she decided to take that shot. Blake ran up to her, to make sure was ok, while Yang glared up at the building, and the plane. "You better come back, jackass. I'm gonna knock you out for letting my sister get hurt!" She was mad, and that boy was going to pay for it. Blake debated going up to help when they all heard the guns rev up and start firing, sending chunks of building toward them. Yang grabbed Ruby, and they got to a safe distance away.

"No respect from him.. He runs into me and then just runs off without an apology! Does he even know who I am?" The trio turned around to see a white haired princess type ranting as she walked toward them. "Have any of you seen a boy run by here?" She paused, and realized that she had seen these three before. "You wouldn't happen to be attending Beacon Academy, would you?" They all nodded. "Oh, well, then, this makes things much easier. I'm looking for the boy who fell from the sky when we arrived."

Yang was quick to respond. "Sorry, sister, but I'm getting first crack. He let my sister here get hurt and didn't even bother to see if she was alright. I'm gonna knock his sorry tail into next friggen week!" Before the white haired girl could respond, Blake interjected. "If he can get out of that gunfire, that is. Even if he does, there's no guarantee he'll be well enough for you to knock him out. And you must be Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."

Weiss beamed with pride and ego. "Finally, someone with respect. So, what was that about gunfire?" She asked, semioblivious to the miniguns roaring behind her. Yang and Blake looked at each other, then to Ruby, who sighed. Suddenly, they heard someone shout "Oh, Bowler Hat~~! Your pilot has some of the most awful aim I've ever seen!" All of them made the same assumption out loud "That would be the sky boy."

Tsukino had managed to either redirect or slash the bullets from the miniguns using only Stained Silver. His shout had made his enemy turn red with rage, but he hopped aboard the plane anyway. "See ya later, Silver!" He shouted. There was no way Tsukino would let him escape easily. He began chanting in a language not known to Remnant, and a large stone hailstorm struck at the plane. However, there was another mage in the vessal, one who specialized in fire magic. They began a duel of mana and power, but a third contender entered the frey. Glynda Goodwitch supposed Tsukino against this newcomer, and drove the plane away from the city. With the skirmish over, Tsukino got the most distinctive feeling that he was going to be in a _**LOT**_ of trouble.

 **A/N: Hello again readers! (God that sounded like Caboose) *ahem* Thanks for readin all the way through. Sorry about the long first chapter, but I managed to introduce most of the important characters early on in a decent enough manner. Also, props to the first person who gets the joke I put in. I'm gonna steal a line from one of my favorite Fanfiction authors, TheSib. Please review. It really will help me improve my writing. Tata for now~~!**


	2. Getting Scolded

**Author's Note: Hahahah~! I'm baaaaack, and so soon, too. Betcha weren't expecting me, DIO! Oh, wait, sorry, wrong series… Aaaaaaanyways, here's Chapter Two. Let's hop on in!**

"Do you have any idea how much damage you caused and how many people's lives you endangered doing that stunt?" Professor Goodwitch asked with a scathing tone. "Not to mention, a fellow student was harmed. Nothing severe, but you still endangered her life, young man!" I hated getting told off. It always makes me doubt my decisions that I make in the heat of the moment. Nevertheless, she was right. I did cause a large amount of damage, trouble, and that girl did get hurt because of me.

I looked up at the professor. "Is the girl ok? Even if it wasn't life threatening, I want to be sure she can still attend Beacon." The professor looked surprised. Apparently guys around here didn't put too much concern forward towards the girls. ' _Pompous jackoffs_ ,' I thought to myself.

Professor Goodwitch nodded. "Yes, Miss Rose will still be able to attend. However, for your sake, I would avoid her older sister, a blonde girl named Yang. She seemed rather set on, and I quote, 'Knocking your sorry ass into next week.'" So Blondie and Red Highlights are related.

"Duly noted," I murmured. "I also get the feeling I'm going to a scolded by a white haired girl in a combat dress."

 _-Ten Minutes Later-_

As soon as I walked out of the room, Blondie and Miss Snowhead were both waiting for me. I sighed, and stopped both of them before they could make a noise. "Yang, right? I want to go check on your sister before you beat me to a pulp. To thank her, and apologize." This seemed to surprise Blondie, but Snowhead decided to chime in.

"Do you have any idea how rude you were to me earlier today? The least you could've done was stop for a second to say sorry!" She went off on a rant. Princess types.

I just kind of walked in between the two of them, which pissed Snowhead off even MORE. Ignoring her various phrases and repetition, I headed for the infirmary. "Can I talk to Miss Rose, please?" I asked the nurse, who said I could, but I shouldn't wake her if she was asleep. I nodded, and walked into her room. She looked at me, and she had this look of relief on her face. I was so bloody confused. I would've thought, for SURE, she was gonna chew me out too.

"Hey there. Glad to see you're still in one piece. Did you manage to catch that robber?" She asked, in an exhausted yet still innocent and adorable voice. I felt like ten times worse that I didn't. I shook my head in response. I felt her excitement diminish.

"Sorry. He had an escape plane on call with miniguns attached. There wasn't much I could do. Thank you for taking that shot, but I'm sorry I couldn't get to him in time." It was weird. Normally, nobody had to take that sort of injury for me. That's what my armor did. But, I apparently lost it when I was transported here. My weapons felt different as well. Silver Lining and Stained Silver didn't have their enchantments on them anymore. My mind started to go into Overdrive when I heard her shuffling in her bed.

She was smiling at me, even though I failed my mission and had gotten her hurt. "It's ok, Mister Skyfall. We all mess up sometimes. That isn't anything to beat yourself up over. Oh! I never introduced myself. My name is Ruby Rose." She held out her hand for me to shake. Her optimistic nature drew me from my thoughts and I shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Ruby Rose. I'm Tsukino Shinoha. You know, you and your sister really are a pair," I said, cracking a smile.

She shook her head a little. "Don't I know it.. She wants to fight you. She wanted to since this morning. And if I know my sister, she'll want to fight you now more than ever. She's really hotheaded, so I would be careful."

"Yeah, she is. Not as bad as that white haired chick. Something about being the heiress to a Dust company, whatever that means." I figured she knew at least who I was referring to when I said white haired, but I was not expecting her to know what her name was.

"You mean Weiss? She was pretty mad that you ran into her. Wouldn't leave it alone, then Blake mentioned that she knew Weiss, at least by title, and she did a complete 180." Ruby explained. She looked visibly more happy that she got to make a new friend. "Hey, how do you think the teams get picked, Tsukino?"

That was a bit random of a question, but it did have it own merits. "I'm not entirely sure," I responded, "But if I had to guess, it'll be a sort of First Come, First Serve." When I saw her confusion, I clarified. "Say we ended up running into each other, stuck around, and completed whatever task we are assigned. If we showed excellent teamwork, they'd probably put us into a team together. Make sense?"

She nodded, and before she could say anything else, I felt the back of my collar being grabbed, and I was dragged from the room. ' _Well, shit. Is it pickle time again?'_ I thought. I looked behind me and sure enough, a wild mane of blonde hair was bobbin' up and down.

 **A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know. "Xeraphan, why the cliffhanger? We wanna see what happens to Tsukino next!" You can wait for a bit, I've got stuff planned out for the next few chapters. Oh, and, in case some of you haven't noticed, this is not going to follow the story one for one. It will mostly stick to the track, but I'll throw in my own elements as well. Now that that's out of the way, look foward to Chapter Three: Tsukino versus Yang. As before, review, favorite and follow for updates and writing improvement ideas. Also, if some of you are feeling particularly invested and want to see your own characters in this story, send me OC PMs. I may work some in. Welp, that's all for now. Tata~~!**


	3. The Jagged Edge of a Silver Lining

**Author's Note: Well, guess who's back? Suppose I'm on a writing roll, yeah? Well, putting my impeccable upload streak aside, here's that Tsukino versus Yang chapter I promised last time. The fight will probably take up most of the chapter, and will be in third person, so expect near action-by-action storytelling. Also, I'll throw in some music that I think fits the battle, if you so feel the desire to listen. I'm rambling, so let's get a move on!**

Apparently, Yang had already cleared usage of the amphitheater to fight me, and even had people spread the word to come watch. Basic rules, in Remnant terms. First person to have their Aura drained loses, or the match ends when the proctor calls the match. The Proctor in this case is Professor Ozpin himself. When I asked him what he was doing here, he merely responded with "Watching two of my students spar." I shook my head at his answer, and stood opposite of Yang. Two bars appeared on a huge monitor, reminiscent of health bars, labelled Yang Xiao Long and Tsukino Shinoha. She was fired up, and her metal wristbands expanded down her arms, and I noticed shotgun shells. ' _Melee weapon doubling as a gun. Huh._ ' I drew Silver Lining, and got into my stance. This is a good opportunity to figure out what my blade retained, and what it had lost.

Yang also got into her stance, bouncing on her feet. It looked like a boxing stance, one hand closer to her face, the other guarding her stomach area. As she looked at Tsukino, she felt her heartrate increase. She wasn't sure if it was excitement at fighting such a strong looking opponent, or hatred for the guy that let her sister get hurt.

Probably both.

(Song Start: )

The fight began when the timer hit 0. _5_ … Tsukino blocked all of the noise of the students out. _4_ … Yang felt her heart rate quicken again. _3_ … The air became supercharged with energy as the crowd watched the two combatants. _2_ … Ozpin watched the two closely, already predicting the entire fight, move by move. _1_ … Both got ready to move.

 _Zero._ Yang shot toward Tsukino, using her shot-gauntlets as a propulsion system. She reeled back her right arm for a punch, which Tsukino raised his sword to block. Yang feinted, and sent her left hand into his gut, firing another shot right into his stomach. Tsukino's Aura meter depleted by about ¼. Tsukino gasped a bit, kicks Yang away, and takes a second to recollect himself.

Yang charges at Tsukino again, only to find Silver Lining swinging upward. She decided to take the lesser of two pains and block the sword. She smirked, thinking that she had him totally stuck. When she heard the slow grind of metal against sheath, her eyes widened and she was sent flying to the side as the blunt end of Stained Silver slammed against the side of her head. Her Aura meter didn't deplete very much, but that still hurt like hell. ' _How is he able to hold that sword with one hand!?_ ' She didn't have time to recover much as Tsukino went for a thrust at her arm. She rolled to the left, and sweeped his legs from under him.

Tsukino fell onto his back, and soon found Yang on top of him, throwing punch after punch into his chest and stomach, slowly draining away his Aura. When he finally managed to throw her off, his meter was at about half. ' _I can't let her keep this up. Time to turn up the heat,_ ' Tsukino thought. He grabbed Silver Lining, closed his eyes, and focused some of his mana into the sword.

Yang and everyone else watched as the smooth double edge of Silver Lining became jagged and go from shining silver to dark red. Once the transformation was finished, Tsukino opened his eyes, and their color had changed as well. He lowered the sword to his left in one hand, and dashed toward Yang with a higher speed, getting four slashes across her body, draining her Aura meter by a third, evening them out, give or take.

While they were having a Mexican Standoff-style staring contest, Yang noticed little strands of yellow floating down to her feet. As soon as it clicked what is was, her eyes turned red, and she went on the most aggressive full out assault, sending punches and shotgun shots everywhere. Tsukino managed to stand his ground, slicing some of the blasts in half, blocking some punches, and getting in counterslashes. Tsukino finally found one major opening, and turned the tables on Yang.

He knocked her off balance with the flat of his sword, and slashed both of her arms. When Yang attempted to raise them in defense, she found that she couldn't move them. She looked back up at Tsukino, and he sent a powerful diagonal slash down her chest, temporarily paralyzing her, and draining her Aura to a dangerously low amount.

Just as he was about to deliver the final blow, Ozpin stepped in. "This match is over. The winner is Tsukino Shinoha." The crowd exploded into cheers, and Tsukino released the magic, returning Silver Lining to its normal form, returning movement to Yang's body, and his eyes to their natural color.

"I can't believe I lost to him.." I said, laying next to Ruby, staring at the boy, Tsukino. "He got powerful so quickly! And that sword of his really hurts as well."

We were all in the Dining Hall, and all I could hear was people talking about our match. I looked away from Tsukino, and up at the ceiling. "I could tell. He started going pretty aggressive toward the end there, didn't he, Yang?" Ruby asked, laying next to me. I sighed, and closed my eyes.

I felt a shadow pass over me, and stare. When I didn't feel them leave, I opened one eye to find him standing over me. ' _Oh great,_ ' I thought, ' _What's he want?_ ' "What is it, Tsukino?" I huffed, not trying too hard to hide my disdain for him. A huge area around us got quiet, like they were waiting for one of us to start another fight.

He held out a hand. "Good fight, Yang. Thank you, and, sorry I didn't check on Ruby before I went after Bowler Hat." Wait, is he being serious? I was sure that he would come over to gloat or mock me or SOMETHING. I took his hand, and shook it.

"Yeah, no problem. Good fight. And.. don't worry. Ruby's fine, so I forgive you. For now." I gave a cocky smile. "Next time we fight, I'm expecting more of a challenge than what I had back there." He cracked a cocky smile of his own.

"I hear ya, Yang. Besides, I'm expecting more from you, too. I've seen what you're capable of, so the next fight should prove a lot more interesting." There was the tension of rivals in the air, and neither of us could keep it up. We both started laughing, and he let go of my hand. I let go of his, and he sat near us. "I have a question for you two. How long had you been following me before Bowler Hat?"

I was caught off guard, and Ruby blushed a bit. "Kindasortasincewewereallowedtowanderthearea," Ruby admitted in one breath. When Tsukino gave her a look, she repeated what she said, but with actual spaces between her words. "Kinda sorta since we were allowed to wander the area."

"Oh. Well, y'all should've said something. I would've been happy to hang out for a bit," he remarked. "Who was that black haired girl that was with you?" He asked, pointing Blake out.

Ozpin looked over the recording of the sparring match, watching the two go at it while unleashing a hint of their true power. He felt the surge of energy as Tsukino's weapon changed, and as Yang went berserk. He was smart to have stepped in when he did, otherwise, who knows how much damage those two would've caused? Glynda walked up behind him with a fresh mug of hot chocolate. "Mr Shinoha is a powerful warrior. Wouldn't you agree, Glynda?" he asked, as casually as you would the weather.

She nodded. "Quite powerful. But he's reckless, and has Tunnel Vision when it comes to combat. You saw the Dust Theft incident, he left the girl to go after Torchwick." She had a point, but she was known to have a one track mind herself.

"He is capable of change. All he needs is experience, and his mind will open up," was all Ozpin said in return. He was curious about what kind of magic Tsukino learned, and how much training he underwent for such strength. For now, though, his thoughts returned to the task tomorrow.

' _Would they be able to pull it off?'_

 **A/N: Phew, that took so long to write! I hope you all enjoyed Tsukino versus Yang, because I certainly enjoyed playing it out in my head. For those curious about ships, I haven't really planned any. HOWEVER, if you DO want ships, review and leave your ship ideas. OR PM me and we can go further in depth. Also, I may end up uploading a chapter once per week instead of daily, so follow the story for new updates. I'll try my best to remember to upload. Sometimes, I may do a Spur-Of-The-Idea upload, or a short mini chapter based in Tsukino's homeworld, Coronexia! I'll develop Weiss and Blake a bit more in the next chapter, as well. Anyways, tata, my Seraphim~~!**


	4. Monochrome Tag Team

**Author Note: Well, well, well. Seems your favorite writer has return. So, I know I said I'd develop Blake and Weiss a bit more. I've had trouble figuring out just how to do that. Thankfully, while working on a project and listening to some dope dubstep, I think I finally figured out just how to write it now! So, here's the chapter that works out Blake and Weiss a bit more. Enjoy~~~!**

There wasn't a lot of time between been woken up, changing into clothes, eating, and the "orientation." So Tsukino, Ruby, and Yang were REAAAALLLY tired. Weiss looked at them incredulously. "What time do you three usually wake up?"

Tsukino yawned, stretching his arms into the air, and managed to get out between yawns, "When I don't have to fight things, noon. At the -yawn- at the earliest." Weiss shook her head.

"You'd better be awake enough to do whatever task Professor Ozpin sets for us," She said with a scathing tone. "Otherwise, you'll be sent back home, and you'll have to explain to your parents why you were set home." She wasn't buying this 'From another world' business, not one bit. He must've said that for attention, and she wholeheartedly ignored that fact that he fell from a height higher than even THEY were when they arrived at Beacon.

Tsukino just kind of rolled his eyes. "Yes, _MOM_. I'll try not to fall asleep during class." Weiss blew him off. He wasn't worth her time, anger, or her Myrtenaster.

They stood around for a solid fifteen minutes before Ozpin appeared, holding a steaming cup of something. Most people just assumed it was coffee, but Blake could tell it was hot chocolate just from the smell. She shuddered slightly, and watched as Ozpin walked up to the front of everyone.

"Good morning, students. Today, as I'm quite sure you're aware, is the day your Hunter teams are picked. If you have not noticed, you will be sent into the forest in front of you. Your task today is to collect an artifact from the Ruins deep in the woods." He took a sip from his cocoa. "But I'm sure the more pressing question is how your teams will be decided during this task. In answer to this question, your teams will consist of the first three people you encounter within the Woods. When you return with the artifact, your teammates will accompany you, and the four of you will be registered as a team on your Scrolls." As he stopped to let the information sink in, he noticed that nine students continued to look at him with a look saying 'Keep going, there has to be some strings attached, right?' He cleared his throat to gather the attention of everyone. "There is a catch. The Forest is full of Grimm, and they will not hesitate to kill you once they see you. I recommend you all be on your guard whilst you are in the Forest. Now, please step onto the platforms in front of you."

Everybody obeyed, and stood ready, for whatever was gonna happen. He smiled. "Have a safe flight, and do try not to hurt yourselves in the trees."

Some students murmured, and one was visibly panicked. "W-What do you mean, Safe Fli-IIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiii….."

As Blake looked around her, other kids were trying to find the best aerodynamic position to get the farthest they could, but Blake knew better. She adjusted her body to land as quickly as possible, looking around her landing spot. The area immediately around her was clear, so she made a run deeper into the woods. The Ruins should be ahead, if not directly so. Blake could hear some of the others coming down from the launch, and the one that landed in front of her HAD to be…

"Oh! Hello, Blake! I'm glad I landed by you instead of some of those others," Weiss cheered, fixing her skirt. Ugh. There can't be any worse punishment.

No sooner had that thought finished, when they both heard a loud _THUMP_ , and turned to find a large Ursa standing there, ready to slash the two of them in half. ' _Uh oh..._ '

Both Blake and Weiss jumped into action, drawing their weapons in near-perfect sync. The Ursa decided to target Blake, leaving Weiss to either attack it from behind, or run away. Blake, in all honesty, was expecting the latter of the two, seeing as who her partner was. What she WASN'T expecting to see was a flash of red, and a fire wave to strike the Ursa's back. Blake decided not to think too far into it, and went in for an attack of her own, slashing into the Ursa's legs to knock it off balance. When Blake backed away and the Ursa turned back toward her, she saw Weiss jump up and stab it three times in the neck. This caused the Ursa to roar, stunning both of them, and it turned, faster now, and backhanded Weiss into a tree.

"Weiss!" Blake shouted, but realized her mistake. The Ursa went to backhand her as well, but Blake jumped back, leaving an afterimage, and ran over to Weiss. "Weiss, are you ok?" Blake questioned with a concern that surprised her. Weiss nodded, got back up, and readied her rapier. Blake stood beside her, katan poised to kill.

The Ursa faced toward them, and charged with a ferocious battlecry. Weiss and Blake returned the favor, and the swords clashed against the Ursa's claws. The next moves would make all the difference…

 _Ten Minutes Later…_

The duo took a quick rest, breathing hard as they watched the Ursa corpse dissolve. Weiss looked over at Blake, and gasped. "Blake," she started slowly, "Y… You… You have cat ears!? YOU'RE A FAUNUS!?"

Blake blanched, and reached to feel for her bow. ' _Oh no… Where? Where is it?_ ' Almost immediately, she noticed the tattered cloth near the Ursa corpse. "I didn't even notice it was gone…" Then she remembered who was in her presence, and her head snapped toward Weiss.

Weiss was in shock. Her father had always said that Faunus were lying, filthy, Human hating creatures who only caused trouble. But what just went down contradicted just about every hateful word he said. No, not just about, EVERY word. ' _I don't care if she's Faunus. We saved each other's lives. We're a team._ ' When she looked back to Blake, she saw the look in her eyes. They weren't pleasant. Weiss couldn't determine if it was hate, fear, or some other emotion. "Blake.." Before she could finish her thought, Blake cut her off.

"Go on, insult me. I know you want to. I know what your father thinks of people like you. It won't be the first time I've been ridiculed for being a Faunus." There was malice in her voice, but it was laced with sorrow, and tears were building up in the corners of her eyes as well. Weiss shook her head.

"I'm not gonna do that, Blake. That would be unacceptable to treat my teammate like they were trash. My family- Strike that. My FATHER might hate Faunus, but I don't. I don't agree with the White Fang, though." Weiss stood up, and offered Blake a hand. "Come on, let's keep going. We have a task to finish."

Blake smiled, and took her hand. "Right. Thanks, Weiss." She wiped away the built up tears, and continued into forest with Weiss.

 **A/N: Heheheheheheheh. So, I've already revealed Blake's secret, but ONLY to Weiss for now. Also, Weiss isn't racist! I'll probably dive deeper down this rabbit hole at a later poiiii… Oh shit… Velvet! I'm sorry!**

 **Weiss: *ahem* As Xeraphan was saying, they'll work more on this subject at a later point *checks Writer's Notes Post Chapter* Oh! Next time, it'll be about Ruby and Yang meeting up with us! That should be fun.**

 **Blake: Wait, does that mean it's already set that we're a team?**

 ***from a distance* YEAH!**

 **Blake: ...Neat.**

 **Weiss: Anyways, readers, I'm Weiss-**

 **Blake: And I'm Blake-**

 **Weiss: Signing off!**


	5. Lots O' Grimm

**Author's Notes: Bonjour, mon Seraphim. I have returned from the wretched abyss known as school, and I am here to present… ANOTHER CHAPTER! This time, focusing on the meetup of Ruby and Yang, then with Weiss and Blake. Thus, this will be the first time they'll officially work as a team. Also, probably Nevermore. Now, don't worry, I'll cover Tsukino's forest travels next time, OR I could this another SUUUUPER long chapter. Meh, s'pose you all will just have to read to find out, huh? Ugh, rambling again… ENJOY THE CHAPTER, Y'ALL!**

Several severed Beowulfs lay around an exhausted Ruby, who was still facing off against the pack remnants. Two Beowulfs charged toward her, but before they could reach her, a new arrival landed in front of them. The Beowulfs were sent flying backward with chunks of their heads missing. Ruby sighed in relief, and lowered Crescent Rose. "Thanks for the save, Yang. I thought my bacon was cooked for a second." She paused. "Can we get bacon once this is over? I want bacon now"

Yang laughed, and got into her fighting stance. "Sure, sis," she responded, "We can get bacon once we finish this. For now, though, take a break. I got these oversized poodles."

Ruby nodded, and climbed into a tree. Yang breathed deeply, eyes closed. Seven wolves, one of her. Those odds were not in their favor, and they knew it. She had 6 shells left in each half of Ember Cecilia, meaning she had 12 shots. "Let's count 'em down," she murmured to herself.

Two wolves rushed her again, trying to flank either side of her. She jumped above them, causing the two wolves to smash headfirst into one another. While they were dazed, and closer together, she sent a shot straight down, killing both instantly.

 _11…_

She landed on the bodies, kicking them toward the remaining five. She managed to nail one, temporarily taking it out of commission and setting the rest into a frenzy. They surrounded Yang, growling, with piercing red eyes. Just as she was about attack the two in front of her, a roar from behind revealed three Ursai. The Beowulfs maneuvered so the Ursai could surround Yang as well. One took a sweeping slash at her, cutting away a few strands of hair.

Three loud sniper shots killed two Beowulfs and injured a Ursa. Yang went ballistic over losing more of her hair, popping three shells into the injured Ursa's stomach. The Ursa fell over, dead, and Yang was still VERY angry.

 _10, 9, 8…_

Ruby dropped down next to Yang. They stood back to back, eyeing the Grimm around them. "Try to line them up, Yang. I've got an idea," Ruby commanded. Yang nodded, and punched the ground, sending a shockwave through the ground. All of the Grimm were knocked off of their feet, and Yang knocked them all into a straight line for her sister. When she looked over, she realized what Ruby was trying to do.

Within a few seconds, the Ursa got back up, and Beowulfs stumbled back onto all fours. From where Yang was standing, she didn't see the line up, but Ruby did.

 _ **BANG.**_

With one trigger pull, Ruby obliterated all of the Grimm with a headshot. Yang fell from her Rage High, and gave her sister a thumbs up. "Nice shot, sis!"

Ruby smiled. Then, she noticed a gigantic shadow fly over, and she looked up. "Uhm… Y-Yang? We.. may want to run.." She sounded terrified, and once Yang looked up as well, she knew why.

 _There was a Nevermore above them._

 _ **And he scooped them up, and flew up into the sky.**_

I hate the Grimm. Hands down, they are the worst creatures I have ever fought in my LIFE. They're smart, they're ferocious, and most annoying of all: They travel in FRIGGEN PACKS!

I stood, panting, over a pile of dead Grimm, some Beowulfs, some Ursai, and even a King Taijitu. "Wolves, bears, and a big ass snake. What other BS can this world throw at me!?" I shouted. I was pissed, because the last twenty minutes has been me just dealing with more and more Grimm.

That's exactly why, when I heard scuttling, I stabbed Hell's Edge into the ground, and drew Stained Silver. " _ **As I stand before you, O Goddess of All, I require your blessings, and your curses. Grant me the raging strength to obliterate any creature who dares stand in my way."**_ I prayed to Irene, the Goddess of my world.

I felt a divine power flash through me, and I knew that Irene granted my request. I focused half of that strength into Stained Silver, causing its form to change from a normal butcher's knife into a serrated shortsword. When I saw the blade, I knew instantly what its name was: Fallen Champion.

I smirked. "Thanks, Irene." I turned around and faced the scorpion behind me. I slashed at its head, and I left a deep scratch it its armor. Unfortunately, my recompense was a hard smack to my chest with a tail. The stinger on the end nearly ripped through my arm, but I managed to get Fallen Champion up enough to cut deep into the base of the stinger.

I blacked out for who knows how long, when I woke up to find four people guarding me from the same Scorpion, but I wasn't in the woods anymore. I was in some ruins, with some more Grimm: Another Ursa, the scorpion, and a gigantic raven/crow thing.

I shot up to my feet. "Ahh, hells! I left my sword! You cannot be serious! Oh, she's gonna have my head for this…" I muttered to myself. One of the ones standing in front of me, the ginger, heard me (I think), and looked at me.

"Hey, look! He's awake!" She yelled happily, and knocked the stinger back with her hammer. The blonde guy shouted something about dropping the stinger onto its head, but I wasn't exactly listening. I reached for Fallen Champion, but couldn't find that one either. ' _SHIT!_ ' I thought. ' _Wait, no, I still have my magic. It's all good._ ' So, I began murmuring an incantation, and the words etherealized around me. When the incantation was done, I spiked the mana input, and shouted "Close your eyes, and then follow your leader's orders!" at the four in front of me.

The spell triggered, and a bright beam of light struck the scorpion, blinding and paralyzing it. Then, I ran off to help the group fighting the bigass bird.

Turns out it was Ruby, Blake, Weiss, and Yang fighting the bigass bird. It was moving way too fast for me to with a Divine Light spell, but I noticed that they couldn't get a clean shot in either: The bird kept assaulting them with feathers. "Hey girls, need a hand?" I shouted to them, and began another incantation. When I finished, I surged mana into it, making it stronger. "I can buy you ladies five minutes, tops. You better get to planning!"

A huge bluestone wall erupted around us, covering three or four columns as well. I just hope it can hold out against the feather onslaught...

 **A/N: HA! Lolz, another cliffhanger. Don't worry, I will have them kill the Nevermore the way they do in the show. Y'all like how this chapter went? You did? Well, my lovely Seraphim, do leave reviews, hm? It does so help me improve and gather new ideas. Anyways, how did you feel about Fallen Champion, and Tsukino leaving his weapons laying around? He's gonna be in some DEEEP trouble for that, too, so expect some…** _ **fun…**_ **consequences**

 **Anyways, lovelies, tata for now~~!**


	6. Somebody call the Plague Doctor!

**Author's Notes: So, uh, I'd like to thank the 275 people who have read my story overall, and I'd especially like to thank the six who've read all the way up to the last chapter. Honestly never thought I'd garner so many peoples in just a week (Give or take a few days). But to all of my readers, thank you so, SO much for giving me the will to continue crafting together a storyline. And now, the chapter. This will be the demise of the Nevermore, move for move from the show (with some alterations). After this, you could say… Ehhh, I'll let someone else make that joke. On with the chapter!**

The walls trembled violently as the bird continued to barrage it with its sharp feathers. Even though none protruded through, Tsukino could feel the walls weakening little by little. "The stone can't hold out for more than 2 minutes at it stands right now. I sincerely hope you four have a plan." he reported, trying his best to focus his will toward protecting the five of them.

"Drop the wall, Tsukino. We've got a plan set up. But we still need your help. Do you know any ice magic?" Ruby asked.

' _Ice Magic? Why Ice Magic?_ ' Tsukino thought. But if she had a plan, it was better not to question design details. "Yeah, I know some ice spells. Why? That thing flies way too fast to land any clean shots in."

Ruby shook her head, and looked at him. "Just trust me."

He nodded. "Alright, ladies, wall's comin' down in three… two… one… GO!" He shouted, releasing the spell, causing the walls to crumble. All four girls ran across the stone bridge connecting the cliffside to a stone cathedral-type thing that the bigass bird was circling around. As they ran, the bird noticed them and dove at the bridge, taking a huge chunk of it out, and splitting the group up. Yang, Weiss, and Ruby all made it to the right side, but Blake was the only one who ended up falling into the pit below.

Thinking quickly, she threw her Gambol Shroud at a lower section of the still intact parts, and swung her way back up, and landed on the bird's back, slashing four times as she ran down and jumped to join her teammates. "That thing is WAY tougher than it looks," she said, worried that the plan may not work after all.

Yang readied Ember Celica. "Then we just hit it with everything we got."

The four lined themselves up as the bird charged them again, this time being barraged by various attacks before smashing through the cathedral thing. They each managed to survive the pitfall by using the falling rubble as spring boards via recoil or, in Weiss' case, Glyph magic. Once they all landed, Weiss stated the obvious with "None of this is working," and Ruby looked at her teammates: Weiss next to her, Blake across the way, and Yang standing on a shattered pillar, taking potshots at the bird. Suddenly, a new idea came to Ruby. "I've got a new idea, Weiss. Cover me!" she called, and shot off to tell her teammates as Weiss went in to attack the bird with Yang.

Yang charged up a powerful shot in Ember Celica, and scored a headshot on the bird. This made Birb mad, and it went in to eat Yang. She jumped into its beak, held it open with one hand, and shot directly down its throat with her other hand. "I * **BANG** * HOPE * **BANG** * YOU'RE * **BANG** * HUN * **BANG** * GRY!" She shouted with each shot. Yang jumped from the bird's beak just as it crashed into the side of an even HIGHER cliff.

"Tsukino, NOW!" Ruby shouted, and he obliged. He poured the last of his mana into the spell, and a huge pillar of ice erupted around its tail, trapping it from movement.

Blake and Yang positioned themselves onto parallel pillars facing the cliff, and Blake used her Boomerang technique to give Gambol Shroud to Yang, who stabbed it into the pillar. Ruby shot herself into the ribbon connecting the two girls and the two pillars, with her scythe-sniper acting as a barrier between Ruby and the ribbon. Weiss set up a black Glyph to draw Ruby back, and lined up the shot. "Only you could come with this plan," She said

"Think you can hit that shot?" Ruby asked.

Weiss huffed. "Can I?" She asked snarkily, and rhetorically/sarcastically.

Ruby looked at her weird. "Can you?" She asked, wondering if Weiss was serious.

Weiss was somewhat offended, and responded with "Of course I can hit it!"

That was all Ruby needed to hear, and after a few seconds, she shot forward, straight at the struggling bird. She, herself, landed beside its neck. Her scythe blade landed on the neck, and she looked straight ahead (Or up, for everyone else), as Weiss set up a path of Glyphs for Ruby to run up.

Ruby travelled up the side of the cliff at lightning speeds thanks to Weiss' trail and the recoil from her scythe rifle. When she finally reached the top, she tilted Crescent Rose, and fired one last bullet, fully decapitating the bird. She walked to the cliffside, and looked at everybody else below.

"Well.. That was a thing." Yang remarked. Blake nodded a little, and Weiss just watched as the bird body fell into the pit.

So, turns out that the relics we were after were shaped like chess pieces, and they came in the two standard chess colors: White and Black. Ruby and her squad nabbed the two White Knights, the blonde (who's name I have learned is Jaune) and his squad snagged the White Rook pieces, and some other team of all male scrubs took off with the Black Bishop pieces. That left me with plenty of options. I took the Black Queen Piece, and I contacted Ozpin through my Scroll thing. I told him I needed to find my weapons before I came back, and that finding them was a very large priority for me. He told me that I could look for them, but I needed to be back by 4, weapons or no. I checked the time. It was around midday, so I had some time.

I ran back to the forest, dodging Grimm as steathily as I could. Finally, I found them, sitting on the ground. And they looked pissed.

The taller of the two, was about my height. She had shoulder blade length silvery hair, enchantingly beautiful red eyes, and the physique of a model. Of course, she looked more like a demon when she was pissed. "You jackass! You left us here for TWO HOURS! Do you know how many of those beasts attacked us? DO YOU!?" She yelled. It looked like the shorter of the two was scared and angry. I wasn't sure if the little one was scared of this place, the woods, the monsters, or her sister going off on me.

"Judging from your shouting, I can only assume dozens." I replied, deadpan. "Look, I would've come to get you two sooner, but I was kind of busy. I had to help murder a giant goddamn bird."

The older sister started to ramble under her breath, and the younger one walked up to me. "Tsukino, I was really scared when I couldn't feel you anymore. I thought something really bad has happened, and I... " She wasn't able to finish her thought before she hugged me tightly and started crying into my chest. I stroked her hair and hummed her favorite song. This calmed her down somewhat, and she started to sing.

 _They see me as small and Helpless,_

 _They see me as just a child._

 _Surprise when they find out a warrior will soon run wild!_

Her older sister took over singing. Their voices always seem to pass the melody between one another.

 _Prepare for your greatest moments._

 _Prepare for your finest hour._

 _The dream that you've always dreamed is suddenly about to flower._

Then, like they always did, they joined together into a wondrous duet.

 _We are lightning._

 _Straying from the thunder, miracles of ancient wonder!_

 _This'll be the day we've waited for,_

 _This'll be the day we open up the door._

I decided, ' _Eh, what the hell? I haven't joined in with them in a while._ ' I looked at them both, and they knew.

 _I don't want to hear your absolution._

 _Hope you're ready for a revolution._

 _Welcome to a world of new solutions,_

 _Welcome to a world of bloody evolution._

Then, the three of us sang as one, filling the air of not only the forest, but the grounds of the school with our voice.

 _In Time, your heart will open minds._

 _A story will be told,_

 _And victory is in a simple soul!_

We let the note fade away, and refilled the air with laughter. "Wow, Tsukino! Didn't know you could still sing. Did you, Lily?" The older asked.

Lily shook her head. "No, I didn't, but he still can, huh Serah?" She giggled. "That was really good, Tsukino. We should do that more often."

I nodded, and checked the Scroll thing again. "Oh, crap! C'mon girls, we need to get back or we may very well be screwed!" They looked at me, confused, but I grabbed their wrists, and ran back to Beacon.

~ _20 minutes later_ ~

We stood in front of the school, and the girls were in awe. I kept checking my Scroll, thinking ' _Where are ya, Oz? I need to clear something by you fast_..' Lo and behold, he opened the doors, and immediately noticed Serah and Lily behind me.

"Mr. Shinoha, might I ask you who the ladies behind you are?" It was more of a demand for information than a request to share. He has that feel about him.

"Professor Ozpin, these two are my blades. Silver Lining, my greatsword," and I pointed at Serah, "Or Serah Verron. And this is Stained Silver, my knife," and I pointed to Lily, "Or Serah's little sister, Lily Verron." They both curtsied, and Ozpin gave a bow.

"I see. So, they're in the same situation as you are? Hm.. Perhaps I can make an exception. Howeve-"

I cut him off. "Do you remember when I said I never needed backup? Well, these two are kind of the reason why. They ARE my backup. I've been with them for the longest time, and we've protected each other nearly as long."

He stared at them, then looked to me. "Very well," he said after a pause. But I must ask to speak with both Verron sisters alone. Please wait inside." Again, a command. I walked into the building just beyond the doors, and waited.

Serah and Lily looked between one another, then at Ozpin. "Y-Yes, sir? W-What did you want to talk to us about?" Lily stammered.

"Don't worry, Miss Verron. Nothing serious. Just a preferential question is all. However, I do have to ask. He called you his weapons. Did he mean that in a literal sense, or a metaphorical sense?"

"In a literal sense, sir," Serah responded. "We literally are Silver Lining and Stained Silver." She felt strange, referring to herself and her sister by their other names.

Ozpin hid whatever he was feeling and thinking pretty well. "I see. Well, then, that brings us to our next question: How will you be attending? And should the school classify you two as students, or as weapons?"

They were so confused. Attending? Classify? What was he talking about? It dawned on Lily first. "Uhm, s-sir? I-Is Tsukino attending?" She asked. Ozpin smiled.

"Very astute, Miss Verron. Yes, Mr Shinoha is attending Beacon Academy. And if you are his weapons, then I can't help but assume that you will be attending as well. So, will you?"

Such eloquence and cunning in one turn of phrase. They both nodded, and Ozpin's face seemed to lighten up. "Then, may I be the first to unofficially officially say: Congradulations, Team STL!"

~ _Later.._ ~

The trio watched as the new Team RWBY left the stage. Tsukino had told them about the odd bunch of girls, and how one had taken a shot for him. He earned a good smack for that, then proceeded to tell us he'd already fought in repayment.

"And finally, we have our last new Team. Lily Verron" Lily walked up on stage, people wondered where this little girl suddenly appeared from. "Tsukino Shinoha." Tsukino went up, and stood beside Lily. People were even more confused because Tsukino was missing his weapons! "Serah Verron" And finally, Serah stood on Tsukino's other side. "You three collected the Black Queen piece. This day forward, you will work together as Team STL, led by… Tsukino Shinoha!"

While people were still EXTREMELY confused, they still cheered at the thought of another new set of faces, and another potentially amazing team. The trio smiled, having an official title. They turned, and walked off the stage, headed for Team RWBY, and sat next to them. They waved off questions with a simple "We'll explain later", and listened as Ozpin closed out the ceremony.

As everyone left the amphitheater, Team STL dragged RWBY away from the prying crowd, and up to a remote area of the school. Immediately, they were bombarbed with questions, which came as no surprise. This had always happened to them.

"Alright, alright, one at a time. 'Else we'll have to start raising hands." Tsukino instructed. He was pretty persuasive sometimes. "Blake, I believe you had the first question?"

She looked at the sisters, and asked, "What happened to your weapons, Tsukino?"

"Easy," he answered, "They're the other two thirds of Team STL, and they're sitting next to me."

All pause for the collective RWBY gasp. Aaaaaand Yang's hand shot into the air so fast her bracelet became a gauntlet. Tsukino nodded, and she lowered her hand. "They ARE your weapons? But… Can people even do that?"

Lily piped up this time. "That one's tricky. My sister and I are, in fact, his weapons. And yes, people from OUR world can do that. But I don't know if it's possible for people here." When she noticed all of RWBY looking at her in disbelief, she blushed hard and hid partially behind Serah.

Weiss went next. "What happens when you two become his blades? Are you still conscious, or..?"

Serah chimed in. "Being a weapon is interesting. At first, before you're met your wielder, you can only change parts of your body into your weapon form. Gifted Weapons are able to fully change for anyone, but they're strongest with their Wielder. But that's nonimportant."

Lily picked up where her sister left off. "When we're in Weapon form, we aren't conscious. We sort of just float in a void, connected to the world via Tsukino. Whenever he sends magic through us, we know exactly what spell he needs, and we cast it for him. When we shift Blade Formes, usually, that's him pumping unfocused mana through us. Though, sometimes…" She cut herself off, shuddering.

"I've gone off the deep end, and they feel it. They shift Formes, and it's more painful than anything you can imagine." Tsukino finished, solemnly. "Ruby has the last question for now. Ruby?"

"You're really from another world, then? Is that why you fell from so high up?" She asked. She seemed off, but none of them could place it, not even Yang.

"Yup! We're from a different world, Ruby. And I have to say two things: It's much prettier here, and much deadlier as well." Serah pointed out. Then, in perfect sync, she, Ruby, and Lily all yawned.

"Looks like it's time for bed, you two. C'mon, let's go to our dorm." With that said, Team STL got up, and walked to their room. It was an eventful day, to say the least.

Yang looked back at Ruby. "I think the same goes for us as well. Let's get some sleep, guys."

And with that, another night falls over Beacon Academy.

 **A/N: Finally! At least six hours, and five and a half pages later, I finished the Chapter! Who was surprised by the blades being people? C'mon, raise your hands, I know you're out there. Well, trust and believe that won't be the ONLY twist I have for this story. Anywho, before people start yelling at me, I know. I know that, according to RWBY itself, Serah should've been the leader of Team STL, which is pronounced Steel. But, it wouldn't make sense for an unconscious swordgirl to lead on missions. And even if I wanted to make Serah leader, it would've been title only. So lay down your pitchforks, raging hardcore RWBY fans. Also, Red Like Roses. For those who didn't know the song, it's Red Like Roses. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the death of the Nevermore, and I'll see you all next time! Tata~~!**


	7. A Fallen Champion

**Author's Note: I'm SO SORRY this took so long to get out. I've had a bit of writer's block recently, and I'm also indecisive. Those two things combined do NOT make a writer. I think this will focus on Tsukino a bit more. More specifically, why he avoids teams. For those who have seen SAO: Yep. I'm pullin' this. Sit back and feel all the feels. Also, Sib, if you ever get this far: You should know doubly what this'll turn into. Like, uh, Historia, maybe? Enjoy the chapter, lovely Seraphim~~**

I sat with Serah and Lily. Normally, we would be out following the school curriculum with everyone else. We all want to, cuz they were doing high octane sparring sessions. But, today was a bad day for us. So bad, Serah had to go to Ozpin for permission to not participate because Lily and I couldn't move an inch. Today was the day we were destroyed back in our world..

 _Today… Today was the day the three of us died._

~ _Flashback..._ ~

"Hey," I shouted as I blocked another foe's weapon easily with Silver Lining. "Watch your six! Three of 'em, all mace wielders!" I wanted to help, but I had my own problems. A saber user and three warhammer users. I parried the saber, sending a fatal slash across the wielder's jugular, and sidestepped one of the hammers, only to be blindsided by another. I felt my breath leave my lungs twice, once from the blow, and the other from being thrown into a tree.

My teammate managed to kill her enemies. She tried running over to help me, but was jumped by the hammer wielders. I tightened my grip on Silver Lining, and struggled up. Clumsily, I swung my blade around, leaving gashes on the hammer wielders while they were busy fighting her. After what seemed like endless hours (In reality, it was probably 20 minutes), we killed the hammer users. Hey and I both were covered in cuts and bruises, and more than likely had broken bones. We decided to take a break, and we let our guards down. I heard a rustling in the bushes or the trees, and I realized I only had time to pick between the two.

 **I picked the wrong one.**

9 people jumped from the trees, aiming bows at us. Or, more accurately, ME. The next seconds were stretched into unbearable eternities. The arrows flying through the air, the smell of the blood that splattered all over the grass, and the sound of steel piercing flesh and muscle, all of those things still haunt us.

Her body fell over, and she had a sad, but content smile. I screamed in fury, and slaughtered the archers, uncaring about the arrows that now decorated my arm and leg.

I noticed a girl kneeling above her, trying to stop the bleeding. She was so desperate to save her. I knelt next to her. The girl had tears in her eyes, and was shaking her head.

"It's okay, Lily… There's nothing you can do to save me… Please, don't cry for me, Lily. You still have things to smile about." My partner said weakly. Then she looked at me. "I want you to promise me two things, Tsukino. Make sure they don't join me too early, ok? That goes for you as well."

The girl, Lily, cried out. "This isn't fair, Venus! You can't leave us! You can't leave me!" Her head hung down, the tears falling quickly. "I can't smile without you, Venus.. Don't go!"

My vision got blurry as I started to cry as well. I didn't want her to leave either, but I knew there wasn't anything I could do. "Damn it, Venus.. Why? Why did you do this?" I couldn't even ask the question without getting choked up. It got worse when she smiled wider, and pulled my face closer to hers.

"Because, silly," she whispered, "I love you. I always have." And then, before she could do anything else, the Light faded, and her eyes glazed up. Her hands fell to the earth, and she exhaled her final breath. I refused to believe it. Venus Verron was dead.

~ _Flashback End_ ~

I felt liquid running down my cheeks. I was crying again.. I wiped the tears away, and noticed Lily had buried herself into Serah's chest. She was crying her eyes out as well. Serah looked at me, and she was on the verge of tears herself. I hated seeing the two of them like this, but I knew not to interfere for good reason. I think, deep down, they still blame me for Venus' death.

I was content to just sit and watch, but then someone challenged me specifically. Professor Goodwitch was about to tell them I was sitting out, but I cut her off. "Sure. I'm down for a fight."

She looked at me. "Mister Shinoha, are you positive you would like to spar? Do you feel well enough to?" Ozpin told her more than I wanted. Damn you and your over concern for your students.

I nodded. "I'm doing this solo. You two stay here," I ordered to the girls. Lily nodded slightly, and Serah gave me another look. 'Are you sure?' they asked. 'You aren't completely here, either.' She seemed more concerned. It's confusing because she straight up hated me for 2 years after Venus died. "I'll be fine. If I do lose it, Goodwitch will stop the match. You remember what to do, right?" She nodded, and I walked up on stage.

My opponent was some skrub from CRDL. Cardin, I think his name was. From what I understand, this guy was a total jackass. Egotistical, a major bully, and a racist to boot. He wielded a mace that's about 60% the size of his body. ' _I can use that to my advantage. The swing is probably leaving him at Gravity's mercy._ ' I took a deep breath, and got into a relaxed stance. Cardin readied his mace, and he had a triumphant grin on his face.

"You're fighting now, against me? Man, you MUST have a death wish or something. Get ready to lose, punk!" He taunted. Pyrrha and Weiss were right, this guy IS an ass. Oh well, all the more reason to mop the floor with him.

The match started, and Cardin wasted no time, rushing me with his mace ready to crush me. At the last second, I sidestepped to the right. I didn't even feel the need to put any effort into this. I planted a kick on his back, sending him sprawling across the floor. I shifted my weight onto my left leg, and stomped on his back as hard as I could with my right foot. "Now, that may not have done a lot of damage, but DAMN did it feel good." You should've seen the look on his face. This dude went from overly cocky to overly pissed in three seconds. He got back up, glared at me, and threw his mace to try and distract me from his charge. I decided to play along, and dodged the mace, only to find a fist halfway to my face.

Yeah, no.

I caught his punch, twisted his wrist hard enough to nearly break it, and tossed him away like a doll. He struggled to get up, but he did, and grabbed his mace. "I'm gonna knock you into next month for that, loser!" he shouted, using his Aura to heal his wrist and he charged me again. He swung vertically downwards, and I caught it by the head mid swing. It briefly turned into a strength contest, before I forced the head away and sucker punched Cardin in the gut. He stumbled backward, and I spared a glance at the Aura Bars. I had taken more Aura damage than he had, but he was more tired than I was. Better even this out quickly before I'm knocked from the match.

I decided to forsake defense and went all out, using my magic as a melee booster. My hands were cloaked in an amalgamation of the elements, draining Cardin's aura faster than a King Taijitu crushing you could. I landed one last punch before my mana gave out, and I glanced at the Aura bars. I barely had the upperhand, but he had a weapon.

This should be interesting.

I went back on the defensive, dodging all of his attacks, letting him tire himself out. "Come on, loser, fight back! I've got you on the ropes!" he shouted at me. As if. Then, he swung and missed again, but he used his momentum to send a more powerful swing at my head. I ducked, grabbed his arm, and threw him against the floor. He dropped his mace, and I picked it up. "Too dense," I commented, "Top heavy. But it's all I'm gonna need to drop you in one hit."

And with that, I slammed it onto it, depleting his Aura into a dangerous area. I won, but it didn't help me feel any better. I walked off stage, and back to Serah and Lily. They were both watching me, making sure I wouldn't lose my mind and go berserk. When I sat down, they both sighed, and Lily separated herself from her sister, sitting next to me. "You did really good, Tsukino! I don't think we had anything to worry about at all."

"Yeah… Nothing to worry about." I muttered to myself. I wasn't sure how tonight would work, but I figured I was ready for anything.

Boy howdy was I wrong…

 **A/N: Yeah, Yeah, I know. Cliffhangers and (in my biased opinion) a badly written backstory. If you believe me wrong, then leave me a review saying that I'm wrong and that you enjoyed Tsukino's backstory. Also, follow the story for more uploads, I'll try not to put so much time in between chapters, promise.**

 **Tata for now~~!**


	8. A Walk Through The Forest

**Author Notes: Welcome, readers. So, I saw Infinity War. And I have to say SHOOT ME. For those who haven't seen it, expect a lot of sadness.**

 **Anyway, this chapter is Team JNPR heavy. And, like with Weiss and Blake, Jaune's little secret is spilled in a different scenario. Have fun reading~~**

Jaune woke up earlier than usual for a Saturday. Of course, it didn't help that Nora had jumped onto his bed, knee landing on his leg. She seemed SUUUPER excited about something, and Jaune was almost afraid to ask what.

Fortunately, he didn't have to. Lie Ren pulled Nora from Jaune's bed, and Pyrrha sat next to him. "Good morning, Jaune. Did you sleep well last night?"

"Yeah. I was having an awesome dream before Nora nearly broke my leg," he muttered, rubbing the sore spot. "That's gonna bruise…"

Pyrrha smiled a bit. "So, what are we doing today, Jaune?" Nora and Lie Ren looked at Jaune as well: He was the leader after all. He thought about it for a moment, finally deciding between two things: Training, and food. Surprisingly, Jaune chose training first. So he got up, changed his clothes, and Team Juniper left to go find someone or something to train against.

Nora wanted to fight against Team STL, to which everyone gave a solid "Are you crazy!?". Lie Ren suggested that they travel back to the Emerald Forest and fight the Grimm there. Jaune wanted to say no, but got an idea. "How about we go really far into the Forest, and work in different pairs. Nora and I will work together, and Pyrrha and Ren work together." Everybody nodded, but Pyrrha had sort of hoped that she and Jaune could work as a small team, like they had before. "We work with our partner for an hour and a half, then we trade off."

They ate quickly, leaving Teams RWBY and STL rather confused. "What do you think's goin' on with them? Seems like they were in a hurry," Yang commented. "Maybe they're doing some 'extracurricular activities,'" Tsukino suggested, nibbling on a piece of bacon.

The pairs had reached the Ruins, and decided to split off in different directions. Nora and Jaune headed west, while Lie Ren and Pyrrha headed east. Unfortunately, neither group was aware of a third party within the forest.

Ren noticed something was off with Pyrrha, which didn't happen. She wasn't as peppy, or as conscious (She had several close calls with trees; namely, running into them.). "Pyrrha, if I'm not out of line asking, what's gotten into you? You don't seem like you're alright." Normally, Ren never was concerned about anyone but himself and Nora, but being put onto a team helped him become more of a caring person.

Pyrrha shook her head, more to convince herself nothing was wrong than to stave off Ren. She sighed, and grabbed Ren's arm. "Ren… I'm worried about Jaune."

"He'll be fine. As rough as Nora is, she won't let Jaune get hurt or anything like that." Such a vague answer made Ren wary. The three of them knew Jaune wasn't exactly Mr. Combat Ready, but some hardcore training should knock him into shape.

Ren's words seemed to cheer Pyrrha up, at least on the surface. She had put on a smiling face to mask her true feelings. "Thanks, Ren. I didn't know why I suddenly got worried about Jaune." However, before they could continue, they were ambushed by people in white and black outfits designed like Grimm.

And across the forest, the sounds of battle could already be heard…

Nora tapped Jaune on the shoulder. "I got a question! Why'd you pick to train out here, in pairs?" She asked. Normally, Nora just lived in her own little La-La Land, but when Jaune announced his idea, it brought her to reality for a moment. He's usually never that decisive or straight forward. "Also, why'd you pair up wit-"

"I need all the help I can get, Nora. But I was too scared to ask outright." He sounded ashamed. Why did he sound ashamed about asking for help? "Listen, Nora… I'm not fit to lead Team JNPR."

Nora looked at him, confused. "Whaaaaat? Of COURSE you're fit to lead, Jaune! Ozpin knows what he's-"

"No he doesn't!" He shouted, cutting her off. Nora took a step back, eyes widening. "He doesn't know what he's doing, Nora! Not with me! I don't belong on Team JNPR, I don't even belong in this forest or on these grounds! I don't. Belong. At Beacon."

Nora was shocked, genuinely shocked. She had never, NEVER, heard Jaune yell like that. "J-Jaune? W… What are you talking about?" She was growing more and more concerned.

"I faked my entry. I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I faked my entry. I never attended combat school, I never took any tests, I'm just…. A normal guy."

 _CLICK._

Suddenly, everything made sense to Nora. Why he doesn't keep is eye on his Aura; his, well, his abysmal fighting technique; He never had the proper training. "You snuck on… So that's why you're so bad at fighting things…" Then she started laughing. She started laughing so hard, in fact, that she fell to the ground.

"What's so funny, Nora!?" Jaune shouted, on the brink of breaking down. Being honest, he expected to be scorned and shunned, but this is Nora F'in Valkyrie. She lives in her own world. "Did you not just hear me!?"

Nora settled enough to sit. "Easy, Jaune, easy. I heard ya. But you gotta consider what you've accomplished here! You managed to fake it into one of the most prestigious and best advanced combat academies in Remnant. You're leading your own team of Hunters and Huntresses! You came up with a plan to kill a DEATH STALKER. I don't know about you, but I can't think of any normal people who can say that much. You need to give yourself more credit, Jaune. Nobody starts out knowing how to use their Semblance or their Aura. I didn't, Renni-kins didn't, and I can assure you Pyrrha didn't." She stood up, and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "We can help, Jaune."

Jaune was about to say something when he heard bushes rustling around him. He drew Crocea Mors, and Nora grabbed Magnhild. They stood back to back as several people in Grimm-like outfit emerged from the bushline. "Well, lookie here, boys. We found us some Hunters in training. Let's give 'em an extracurricular lesson on the real world!"

They drew their weapons, which were mostly swords with some guns mixed in. The head guy, who had a flail, charged at Nora with two of the sword users. She knocked away one of the swords, used the blunt end of her shaft to incapacitate the other sword user, but left herself open to attack from the Flailer. He nailed one really good shot to Nora's knee, knocking her off balance and causing her to fall over. Before he could take free swings at her, he felt as Jaune slashed him across the back. The leader stumbled forward, and Jaune slammed the flat of his blade against his head, knocking him out cold. Jaune helped Nora up, and put his shield up just in time to block the bullet rain from the goons. "Nora, I need you to do some crowd control. Rain Hell on those guys," he said over the bullets clanging on his shield.

Nora nodded, changed Magnhild into it's grenade launcher form, and started firing over Jaune's shield, scattering the goons and forcing them to pause their onslaught. Nora used the pause to go and crush some legs with Hammer-Form Magnhild, while Jaune fought with some sword users who had snuck behind them during the gun goon's distraction.

As they fought, they heard more combat coming from the other end of the forest. Nora and Jaune had the same thought: 'Pyrrha! Ren!'

The pair ended their skirmish, leaving the attackers tied up to a tree, with the threat of Nora keeping them from escaping. Then, they ran off toward the other two members of their team, praying to the Goddesses that they make it in time.

Pyrrha and Ren had taken out about four of their ambushers when they heard the clash across the forest cease. Pyrrha's mind went to the darkest place, and she fought with an aggression that scared Ren, not to mention the goons. Ren was surrounded by sword users, and Pyrrha had just knocked her opponents back into one of the trees, rendering them unconscious. He could hold his own, but there were too many around him, so Pyrrha switched Miló into Rifle Form, and shot three of them in the back of the head, dropping them instantly. Ren took advantage of the opening to run out, rejoining Pyrrha at her side. "Thanks, Pyrrha. Now, let's dust these guys." He raised his StormFlower, and held his fingers on both triggers, peppering the goons in bullets. Pyrrha got the idea, and joined in with the peppering of bullets. When they finally stopped, only 4 opponents remained. But they were some pretty built people, and the two members of JNPR knew they were outmatched.

Ren heard it first: Leaves getting crunched under boots. When he turned, he saw Jaune and Nora were running to them, bruised and lightly cut, but very much alive. He breathed a sigh of relief, and nudged Pyrrha. "I told you, Pyrrha: Jaune is fine. Take a look behind you."

Pyrrha did, and her heart skipped a beat. ' _He's alive!_ ' She thought, and turned back to face the four remaining ambushers. ' _I hope you have a plan, or come up with one soon._ '

Jaune ended up next to her. "You guys, too?" He asked. Pyrrha nodded, and he sighed. "They look pretty tough… Who are these guys, anyway?"

One of them laughed. "Oh, come ON! You're all human scum, you should know who WE are!" A pause. "Really? NO bells ringing? Ugh, you humans are all stupid… Do I need to spell it out for you?"

Team JNPR raised their eyebrows. The dude scoffed. "WE'RE MEMBERS OF THE WHITE FANG, YOU IDIOTS," he shouted. "WE'RE HERE TO KILL YOU!"

Nora's eyes brightened. "Oooooooh! Hey, Hey Jaune!" Jaune looked over, and saw Nora smiling maniacally. "Can I break their legs?"

Jaune smirked. "You know what, Nora? Sure. Have a blast, and make sure to make those bones sing."

Nora cheered, and with lightning fast speed, she ran at the White Fang brutes. They flinched, and she took the opportunity to swing Magnhild at their legs. She managed to shatter the shinbones of one of the White Fang brutes, causing him to collapse out of sheer agony. One down.

Unfortunately, she was also within attacking range, and one of the brutes grabbed her by the hair. "Lookie what I caught: A goldfish. Can't wait to eat her up!" Then, he slashed Nora across the stomach with sharp claws, tearing away the midriff of her outfit and leaving graze marks. He was a Bear Faunus, which accounted for her claws, massive size, and use of fish.

What type of Faunus he was did not have any impact on what Ren was about to do to him, however. He growled and rushed at the Bear Faunus, StormFlower behind him. He jumped into the air, cutting into the Bear's arms and unloading half a clip from each gun into the Faunus, causing him to drop Nora and try to hit Ren. Ren dodged all of the Faunus' attacks, grabbed Nora, and ran her back to Jaune and Pyrrha. When he spoke, his voice was shaky and raging. "Make sure. That she isn't hurt." When Ren looked up, Jaune saw murder in his eyes.

Pyrrha was less shook. "Give them hell for us, Ren. We'll watch over Nora."

He nodded once, stood back up slowly, and walked toward the three Faunus. As he walked, he stopped shaking, and he was more sure of himself. Nora lifted her head to watch. "You guys know how I can be a little crazy sometimes?" she whispered. "What's about to happen will make me look like a tame cat in comparison."

THAT was a scary thought.

The three Faunus taunted Ren, which was a very bad mistake. The first to go was the Faunus on the right of the Bear. Ren walked up, punched him straight in the gut full force, jumped into the air and bicycle kicked him in the head. When Ren landed, picked the Faunus up by the collar (Which was incredibly impressive, by the way.) and tossed him into a tree, not unlike how a child throws a doll. Two down.

The remaining Faunus went from cocky to concerned VERY quickly. The two Faunus got onto either side of Ren. They each threw a very powerful punch, straight at Ren's head. The plan was to crush his skull like a coconut.

Sadly, they couldn't. Instead, they felt an immense amount of pain as they found the blade portions of StormFlower dug into their knuckles. The Faunus pulled away, clutching their bleeding fists and growling.

"The only thing that pisses me off is when people decide that harming my friends is a good idea," Ren said, calmly, and with gallons of venom dripping from his voice. He grabbed the other Faunus, and chucked him at full strength at the Bear Faunus, sending them both into a boulder. "Now you understand your many mistakes. Do not make them again, or next time… **You may not live to regret it.** " And with that, the team tied these goons up, just like the last group.

Team JNPR had entered the Emerald Forest to train against the Grimm that lived within. They left the Forest having fought two groups of White Fang members. They travelled back to the school, having contacted Ozpin prior and informing him about the breach. The four of them sat at their usual table for lunch, exhausted.

"So, how'd the training go, you guys? Make any progress?" Serah asked. The others seemed very interested to know how things went.

"It was… eventful, to say the least." Jaune responded, wolfing down his lunch. "We had some pretty tough fights to get through, but I think we made a lot of good headway." Nora nodded brightly, even with the bandages around her stomach. Ren looked more exhausted than the other three, but he had a confident smile on his face.

 _Meanwhile…_

"What do you mean, they failed!? How!? WHO!?" Torchwick shouted. "Those were some of the best White Fang fighters in this sect! How were they beaten by mere SCHOOLCHILDREN!?"

The Faunus grunt stepped back in fear. The last time Tworchwick got like this.. Well, the current Faunus working under him was not the same one from the last time Torchwick got like this. "S...Sir, they got cocky. L-Like you said, they fought schoolchildren. They didn't expect for them to put up much of a fight."

Torchwick pointed his cane at the Faunus. "Well, then, maybe we should've sent them to collect data on Signal. Do you realise where they were sent? They were sent to BEACON ACADEMY. They didn't expect the children to be dangerous? That school is full of very, VERY dangerous students. Next time, make sure the taskforce sent out understands the severity of their situation." The Faunus nodded, holding his hands in the air. "Good. Now, run along. The grownups need to talk."

The Fanus walked away, clenching his fists at being made into a bitch by a human. "Jackass…"

 **A/N: So, did you enjoy the Nora Jaune bonding, and Ren's freakout? I may work on Pyrrha more before- Lemme shut up. Look forward to the next chapter, I think you'll find it…**

 _ **Entertaining.**_

 **Tata for now~~!**


	9. Repercussions

**Author's Note: Nothing special to report. Let's just hop into the reading.**

Jaune was walking to class with the rest of his team when Cardin Winchester of all people pulled him aside. "Hey, Jaunie-Boy. I have a little favor to ask of you."

Jaune half sighed. "What, Cardin? I really don't have time to deal with you right now and-"

"Oh, but you do. See, while my team and I were training in the Emerald Forest, we couldn't help but overhear your little… Outburst." Oh shit. Cardin Winchester, leader of Team CRDL, biggest bully/jackass in the school, knew Jaune's secret.

"O-Okay, w-what's goin' on, Cardin, ol' buddy?" Jaune was nervous, sweating even. He knew that one wrong move could get him sent out of the school.

"Weeelll, here's the deal: I really don't have time to do any of the work the teachers give us. So, this is my offer; You do all the jobs I give you, and I won't rat you out to Ozpin or Goodwitch. I keep my grades up, and you keep your place here. After all, attending Beacon is something you've always wanted to do, right?" Cardin had Jaune under his thumb, and there wasn't a damn thing Jaune could to get out, save ridding Cardin of his only blackmail.

Something Jaune was not going to do, under any circumstance.

"Of course I'll do it! It's not very hard work anyway, I breeze through that stuff every night!" Jaune declared, and realized what he had done. ' _Too late to back out now..._ '

With their deal agreed on, Cardin and his new "buddy," Jaune walked into Professor Port's class, and sat through the lecture. Apparently, the boastful teacher brought in an ACTUAL Grimm, a Boarbatusk, and asked who would like to have a go at it.

To everyone's surprise, Lily raised her hand. "I-I'd like to have a go, Sir." Port was concerned, but allowed it. Everybody else, save Serah, looked at Tsukino like "Bro, tell her she can't!"

All he said was "What? She's tougher than she looks, ya know." With that, and Tsukino giving Lily a warm smile, she walked down to the front of the room, facing the cage. Port cut off the lock, and the Boarbatusk broke free, targeting Lily instantly. Again, half the class looked at Serah and Tsukino, trying to make them stop the fight, but they both had confident smirks on their faces. The half looking away heard a clang, an "Oooo" from the watching half, and turned to find Lily's lower arm had become a razor sharp knife blade, and the Boarbatusk's tusks lay severed on the floor. She ran at the Grimm, jumped over it, and did three 360 degree spins, leaving two full body gashes and a severed Boar head on the floor. She landed, returned her hand to normal, and flashed the Victory at her teammates, who flashed it back.

"Excellent work, Miss Verron! Simply extraordinary!" Port exclaimed, clapping at the small girl's swift victory. "Tell us, how did you do such an incredible feat, despite the Boarbatusk having such thick armor plating?"

Lily blushed. "I, um… I left a deep gash in the armor of a Death Stalker while I was in my alternate Weapon Forme. So, I figured if I could do that, then something small like this should be easy."

The whole room was left speechless. It had clicked to Team JNPR then why that Death Stalker they had killed had such a deep cut in it's seemingly impenetrable armor. Nora stood up and voiced the team's collective thought: "That was YOU, Lily!?"

She nodded nervously, and ran back up to her seat. "Nice work," Tsukino whispered to her.

The class continued, and Jaune's mind returned to the dangerous situation he put himself into.

~ _A few months later..._ ~

The four teams followed Goodwitch into the Forever Fall Forest. "Yes, students. The Forests of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But, we are not here to sightsee. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside the Forest. I am here to make sure none of you die while doing so."

Jaune was lagging behind the group, carrying the bottles that were going to be used for this gathering run. He bumped into Cardin, and whistled nervously as Cardin glared at him.

"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at four o'clock. Have fun."

Cardin grabbed Jaune's arm. "C'mon, _buddy."_ Jaune looked up at his team walking away, and saw Pyrrha staring back at him. He looked away in shame, and went off with Cardin and his buddies. After about 20 minutes of walking and gathering, Jaune came back to Team CRDL resting in a circle, with seven jars of sap with him. "Nice goin', Jaunie-boy." Cardin said with his usual air of Grade-A jackass.

Jaune dropped the jars, and fell to the ground. "I think I'm allergic to this stuff," he said, sounding like something was swollen. Cardin blew him off. "Great, great great. Now, I'm sure you're thinking 'Why did my good buddy Cardin ask me to gather _six_ jars of sap when there are only _five_ of _us._ "

Jaune half looked at Cardin. "That is one of many questions I have asked myself today, yes."

Cardin smirked, his jackass levels spiking. "Well, if you'll come with me, I'll show you." Jaune groaned, getting a bad feeling about this.

Jaune crawled up the hill CRDL was laying prone on. When he saw over the top, he saw Team RWBY, Team STL, and the rest of JNPR gathering sap from the trees. Nora kept drinking the sap Lie Ren gave her, and Lily was trying to get a taste as well, but Serah grabbed them both by the ears and chastised them. "Cardin… What are you doing?" he asked, thought he felt that it wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Payback."

Jaune looked back over to the others, and somebody caught his eye almost instantly. "Tsukino…? What are yo-"

Cardin growled. "Yeah, that's him. Cyan haired know-it-all thinks he can embarrass me and get away with it? I say it's high time we teach this one a lesson." He pulled out a box marked 'W', and within it, Jaune could hear buzzing. "Just last night, Jaune here gathered enough Rapier Wasps to fill this box. And, thanks to a report he did for me a few weeks back, I know that they're attracted to sweet things."

Jaune was handed the spare jar of sap, and the pieces fell into place. They wanted Jaune to throw the sap at Tsukino, and unleash the wasps. They wanted Jaune to get a friend hurt.

He tightened his grip on the jar. "So.. you want me to drench him in this sap?"

Cardin nodded. "Yeah, that's the idea. But, if you don't, I'll spill your little secret to Goodwitch."

Again with the blackmail. But… Jaune remembered what he was told last night.

~ _Last Night..._ ~

Jaune closed the door to his team's room in sadness.

"Hey, Jaune!" Ruby greeted. "Long time, no see. Did you lock yourself out again?"

Jaune nervously rubbed the back of his head, and held up his Scroll. "Nope! Got it."

Ruby stood across from him, hands on her hips. "So, where've you been lately?"

"I, uh…" he began, then sighed. "I messed up.. I did something I shouldn't have, and now, Cardin's got me on a leash, Pyrrha won't even talk to me... I'm beginning to think coming to this school was a bad idea." He slid against the door. "I'm a failure…"

"Nope."

Jaune was confused. "Nope?" he asked.

"Nope! You're a leader, now, Jaune. You aren't allowed to be a failure." She was very confident with her words, but Jaune knew that Ruby had her own problems within her team.

"But, what if I'm a failure AT being a leader?" he retorted. If she said nope one more time…

"Nope." Damnit… Curse you and your infinite adorable wisdom!

"Ya know, you aren't the easiest person to talk to about this sort of thing." Ruby sat next to him.

"Nope! Look, Jaune, maybe you were a failure as a kid." He sighed in exasperation. "Maybe you were a failure when we first met!" He slid down the door further. "But you can't be one now. Do you know why?" She asked

"Uh…. Because..?"

"Because it isn't just about you anymore, Jaune. You've got a team now! We both do! And, not only are they our teams, they're our friends! Failing now would drag them down with us. I don't know about you, but I don't want to fail my friends because I'm scared of something. Honestly, I'd rather tell them than hide it and have it grow into a bigger problem." Ruby got back up, and walked to her door. "Hey, Jaune?" She gave him a reassuring smile. "It's good to see you again."

And with that, Ruby went back into her room.

~ _Today..._ ~

Screw it. Cardin had put him through enough shit. Jaune turned around, and chucked the jar as hard as he could at Cardin. He felt his pride swell up at hearing the jar shatter, but got very scared as his buddies grabbed Jaune by the arms.

Six or seven punches, and threats, in, they all heard the roar of an Ursa. Cardin's buddies dropped Jaune and booked it back to the group, shouting at the top of their lungs, but the Ursa was far more interested in the scent of sap. It looked at Cardin and advanced on him, knocking Jaune aside. Cardin went to block the next wipe with his mace, but it was knocked from his hands like a toy. The Ursa sent Cardin flying backwards, and slowly walked to him again. It was toying with its prey before it went for the kill.

Even though that jackass had put him through so much BS, Jaune couldn't let him die. So, drawing Crocea Mors, he attacked the Ursa. All Jaune really ended up doing was pissing the Ursa off, but the aggro was switched from a helpless Cardin to an inexperienced Jaune, so… Reeeeaaaally no difference. Still, Jaune had a weapon, so he could at least attempt to kill the Ursa.

Weiss, Ruby, and Pyrrha stayed at the tree line, watching the battle. "Shouldn't we..?" Weiss began, reaching for Myrtenaster, but Pyrrha stopped her.

"Not yet. Watch it play out." She said, and she looked on with a glow of hope in her eyes.

Jaune was actually doing a good job fending off the Ursa, but when he checked his Aura, it was at the same level as when Cardin kicked the shit out of him. ' _One last attack.. All or nothing!_ ' He thought, and charged at the Ursa.

Pyrrha raised her hand and activated her Semblance as Jaune swung his sword attack. But, she didn't mess with his sword. No, she moved his shield to block the Ursa claws. Jaune swung the sword upwards, decapitating the Ursa with a single stroke. The body flopped over, and the head landed next to Cardin.

Jaune relaxed, and walked over to Cardin, offering him a hand up. Cardin took it, and stood up.

"Next time, Cardin. Don't ever, EVER threaten my friends. Or I won't save you a second time." Jaune stated in a dangerous tone. "Don't hold that blackmail over me anymore, either. I'm not your slave." And with that, Jaune walked away, sheathing Crocea Mors.

Ruby and Weiss stared at Pyrrha. "What was THAT!?" They asked in unison.

She looked sort of sheepish. "Well, Ruby, you have your speed; Weiss, you have your Glyphs. Me? My Semblance lets me control Polarity."

Ruby gasped, and her eyes sparkled. "You control poles…"

Weiss sighed. "No, you dolt, it means she controls magnetism. Honestly…" She said.

Ruby murmured something about "Magnets are cool too…", and the three of them walked back to the rest of the group.

~ _Later, back at Beacon…_ ~

Jaune stood out on the balcony, staring at the moon. He heard the door open and close, and heard someone walk up to him.

"No Cardin tonight? I thought you two were inseparable. Isn't he your buddy or something?" Pyrrha asked, half joking.

"Pyrrha, I need to tell you something important.." He turned to face her, but found her not curious, but giving him a knowing look.

She already knew. "Nora told me a few weeks ago, along with Lie Ren. Jaune, why didn't you tell us sooner? We could've helped you." Pyrrha walked closer. " _I_ could've helped you, Jaune. Everybody has been super worried about you."

Jaune cursed himself and his idiocy. Of course they were worried: He had suddenly vanished from the face of the Earth. But having Pyrrha this close to him made him blush. "P-Pyrrha… If it isn't too late to ask... " He gulped. "Would you and the others being willing to help me get better at being a Hunter?"

Pyrrha's face lit up in a smile, and her eyes shone. "Of course, Jaune! All you had to do was ask, you know."

Meanwhile, under the balcony, Teams RWBY, STL, and the other two members of JNPR sat at the open window in STL's room. They heard a thud, a cry of protest, and Pyrrha commenting on his stance.

Nora was the most excited of everyone there. The others could see the energy bounding from her. "So, this is finally happening, huh? About time, too! I've been wanting to help him ever since he told me."

The others agreed, thinking the same things themselves. It had pretty much been figured out who would do what: Nora and Yang with power and aggressiveness, Ren and Blake with stealth, Ruby with speed, Weiss and Pyrrha with stance and technique. Nobody could really figure out where Team STL fit in, though.

Honestly, it didn't much matter. Jaune basically only needed those few things, and he'd be as good a fighter as any of them.

At least, that was the idea….

 **A/N: Yep! Both teams are going to help train Jaune! I may dedicate a chapter in the near future to just them training. So, look forward to that.**

 **I've really got nothin' else, so… Tata lovely Seraphim~~~!**


	10. Brief Story Hiatus

**Hello, you lovely Seraphim. I know you all are eager to continue reading this fanfiction, but I just watched the two newest Steven Universe episodes (Can't Go Back, and A Single Pale Rose), and I had a spark of inspiration to write a Steven Universe Fanfiction! Don't worry, I'll probably alternate between these two, but I'm going to try and get at least three chapters out by next week. So look forward to that, and do ignore that little fanfic on my profile. That was an... Experiment. Anyways, my darlings, I must fly away to the realm of Steven Universe OCs~~!**

 **Tata for now~!**


	11. A Stray Loose in Vale

**Author's Notes: Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe. In three more moons, 11 powerful youths, and Jaune, will be entered into a battle that could decide their fut- Vytal Festival. I'll say three more chapters before the Vytal Festival. Then you all will get to see people's favorite squad. #LaughterInSlaughter,CuteInExecute**

 **This one will be a bit of a Fun Day chapter. I figured I'd let them have this, ya know? Before all hell breaks loose. Anyway, I'll just let you all get into the swing of things.**

Ruby LOVED Saturdays! The weekend had begun, and they didn't have to worry about homework! So when she woke up, she was surprised to find Team STL out and about before her. "Good morning you guys! How come you all are up so early?"

Serah smiled and waved, and Lily was bouncing off the walls. Almost literally. "Well, I'm only awake because of these two," Tsukino said groggily. "I was totally gonna sleep for like, another five hours, but nope!" He sighed, and shrugged.

Ruby giggled at the absolutely mismatched team. Their personalities shouldn't fit together, but by some divine will, they fit perfectly. She called back to a conversation she was having with the elder of the Verron sisters

~ _Flashback..._ ~

"Hey, Serah? Mind if I ask you a question?" The red raven haired girl asked.

Serah smiled. "Sure thing, Red. Fire away."

"How come you and Lily are friends with Tsukino? I mean, he's so… So…" Ruby struggled to find the right words.

"We're polar opposites." Ruby looked at Serah. "We get that a lot from people who don't know us. Sure, Tsukino can be an idiot, and reckless, and just overall Troublesome, but…" Serah paused, then laughed a bit. "Nah, there's no buts there. But, listen, Ruby. He cares for us. We care for him. And we've spent years working with one another. So don't you worry your cute little hood about it, kay?" Serah messed with Ruby's hair, much like Yang would.

~ _End Flashback..._ ~

Someone yawned behind Ruby. She jumped a bit, and turned to find Weiss behind her, looking super tired.

"Are those two really at it again so early in the morning? I would go break it up, but.." She yawned again, and drooped somewhat onto Ruby. "I'm still half asleep."

Ruby walked Weiss back into her bed, and tucked her back in. "Go back to sleep, Weiss."

"But mooooother… I'm not tired any *Yawn* anymore…" Weiss protested weakly.

Ruby put on a stern face. "Now, now, Weiss. You shouldn't disobey your leader. And your leader-" She reached down and booped Weiss' nose. "-Is telling you to sleep." When she heard Weiss' breathing slow down, she knew the white haired princess-type Schnee Heiress was out cold again.

With that, Ruby exited her team's room, and went off to grab a shower.

~ _3 Hours Later..._ ~

All three majorly important teams to this story were gathered in the courtyard, trying to figure out what to do. One voice spoke out above the other 11.

"Well, since the Vytal Festival is in just a couple weeks, why not head down to the city? I hear some of the Haven students are coming in via boat." The Mystery Voice said. The group heard at least two sets of footsteps.

"My, my, my. If it isn't the badass Coco Adel. And, lest I forget, her incredible teammates Velvet, Fox, and Yatsuhashi." Yang said with a smirk, and her hands on her hips. "What brings you lovely people our way?"

Coco took a similar stance, with one hip cocked to the side, and looking over her sunglasses. "We were bored as well. Figured we would go check out the competition for the Vytal Festival Tournament. Let Velvet snap some photos for memories once our time here is over, ya know?" She let a small smile spread across her lips. "You guys wanna join us?"

Everybody nodded at once, excited to see new students from different schools, as well as new opponents to test their skills.

~ _In The City..._ ~

Everybody had split off to wander the city and see what wonderful sights were being constructed for the Vytal Festival.

Weeeeell…. Almost everyone split off.

Teams CFVY and STL were still together, as Coco had basically cut off their path and said "Come with us; we can get lunch. I want to pick your brain about some stuff."

So that's how the two teams ended up at a table outside of a cafe, eating some tasty sandwiches. "So," Serah began, "What did you want to talk about, Coco?"

Coco set down her glass of tea, and took off her sunglasses. "I was curious about a few things, actually. First, since this has been a bit of a trending topic around the school: What Team STL's take on the Faunus community? I mean, you have had Faunus history, right?"

The team nodded, remembering all of the lectures on Faunus wars and the Faunus-Human relations issue. "What do you mean, our take? What we think of the Faunus?" Tsukino asked.

Coco nodded. Serah took a moment to think. "I don't see why humans hate the Faunus. Racism has always been a thing, even back in our home world. However, that does not make it right. As far as we're concerned, Faunus are our equals." She looked to Velvet. "You, and your people, deserve respect."

Velvet smiled and blushed, while Coco leaned back. Fox and Yatsuhashi had been quiet the whole time. So Yatsuhashi spoke, Tsukino, Serah, and Lilly were surprised. "What about the White Fang?" He asked.

Tsukino was quick to respond on this one. "It's a lot like an extremist group back home, actually. The Faunus of the White Fang are devoted to garnering the respect they deserve by violent acts against others. While it DOES get results, it creates the tensions between humans and Faunus you see everywhere. I agree with their end goal, not the means to get there. It's a waste of resources AND lives, and in the end, it'll bite them in the ass."

Yatsuhashi nodded once, Fox simply stared off into space, Coco took a drink of her tea, and Velvet was smiling. "Would you all mind if I took some pictures? I think I'd like to add you three to our photo collection."

The three of them nodded, and Velvet took out her camera. "Alright, you guys! Say Beacon~!"

Yang was annoyed at Weiss. "Nice goin', princess. You scared off a member of our team. When we find her-"

"When we find her, you'll see I'm right! White Fang members don't change, Yang! They're all murderous thieves who want nothing more than to maim and kill humans!" Weiss shouted. She was pissed as well, pissed that Blake had lied to them, and that they didn't see the issue IN said lie. "Ruby? What side are you on?" She demanded.

Ruby kind of looked scared at the sheer amount of negativity and hatred flying around from her teammates. She took a deep breathe, and chose her next words _very_ carefully. "I just want to find Blake, and learn the truth. That's all I care about right now, Weiss."

~ _Meanwhile..._ ~

Blake ran, as far as she could. ' _They know now.. Who I really am. Who I was, before I came to Beacon,_ ' she thought. She figured at least Ruby would look for her, and Yang wouldn't leave her sister alone. But Weiss? She imagined the Schnee heiress would be spewing some of the usual anti-Faunus stuff. She wouldn't care if Blake came back, or died.

Unfortunately for Blake, she blurred past two of the most powerful and (in CVFY's case) experienced teams in Beacon: CVFY and STL. She made some Afterimages to hopefully try and throw the teams off her scent. She kept running, hoping to avoid contact with any of them.

She eventually ran into a Monkey Faunus she saw leaving a boat from Haven. "I figured you'd look much better with the bowtie." He said knowingly. "Why are you running from your teammates, Kitty?"

~ _Later..._ ~

"Holy crap, you were in the White Fang!?" Sun exclaimed, spewing his tea everywhere. "What could've possibly possessed you to join up with those warmongering psychos?"

Blake looked down at her coffee, both hands on the cup. "It wasn't always a violent organization. We started out as a peaceful protester group. We held rallies for support, and boycotted shops that garnered most of their profit from Faunus, either via purchase or slavery. I took part in every single protest and rally, thinking that it actually had some profound effect." Her grip tightened. "I was naive back then. Nothing seemed to be actually working."

She thought back, to when the White Fang's ideals shifted. "The leader stepped down, and a new leader, with new ideals, took the head. We turned into a violent faction, striking big corporations and pulling late night raids. The worst part about that was that was actually getting results! The humans had finally begun treating us with respect, but not because we were their equals. No, they started respecting us because they were terrified of us. Fear, not peace, is what makes humans respect the Faunus." Blake looked up, at Sun (who was staring at her in disbelief). "So I left. I decided that I didn't want to be associated with that anymore. And so, here I am." She said simply, putting a large period on that story.

Sun set his teacup down. "Well… That was some story, Blake, and it explains quite a bit about you. That isn't my business, though. Besides, I think we should explore the city. Plenty to do and see, ya know?"

Blake nodded, but remembered something from before she ran. "Have you heard about the robbery chain of Dust shops? It's been a strange series of crimes: They take all of the Dust, but leave all of the money. Who do you think is behind it?" She questioned, ruling out possibilities.

Sun scratched his chin with his tail. "Well, my first choice would be the White Fang, but that doesn't exactly make much sense. They've never needed a whole lot of Dust in the past, right?"

Something in Blake's mind clicked. "Maybe not before, but I'm pretty sure recently they've been attaching Schnee Dust transport trains and ships. I think they're amassing for an all out assault!"

Sun blanched. He shot up, and started looking around. "Blake, we may have a serious problem on our hands then. The boat I came in on was carrying HUGE shipping containers with the Schnee logo plastered all over. We need to scout out the docks, or else the White Fang may very well end up with an amount of Dust that could mean a very one sided fight."

Blake nodded, and the two of them shot toward the docks. ' _Please let Sun be wrong..._ ' she thought.

~ _Meanwhile..._ ~

Ruby was walking with the remainder of her team, calling Blake's name out with Yang. "Weiss, why aren't you helping? Don't you care about Blake?" she asked the Schnee heiress in exasperation.

Weiss huffed. "I know who could help us, Ruby: The Police! Why can't you understand how dangerous she really is to us, and the rest of Beacon?"

Ruby could tell it was taking a lot for Yang not to slug Weiss. "She's a friend, Weiss. Not just a friend, but _our_ friend." Ruby replied, upset over Blake running without warning, and that Weiss just didn't seem to care.

"Hey guys! What's going on? Why does everyone look upset?" A voice asked from behind them.

Ruby sighed. "Hey Penny. We're looking for Blake. She ran off suddenly, and we don't know where she ran off to." She replied, in a tone she hoped Penny would take as 'I really don't have the energy to deal with you right now.'

That, unfortunately, was not how Penny interpreted it. "That's terrible! Worry not, Ruby my friend, I won't rest until we find your friend!" the strange girl said, saluting Ruby.

"Thanks for the offer, Penny, but I think we have it covered. Right guys?" asked Ruby hopefully to her teammates. When she turned, they were _looong_ gone. "*sigh* Alright… Let's get looking Penny.." She conceded, and walked down the street with the girl.

"So, Blake is your friend?"

"Yes, Penny."

"But you're… mad at her?"

"Yes Pe- Well, I'm not. Weiss is."

"Is _she_ friends with Blake?"

"Well, that's kind of up in the air right now."

"But _why_?"

Ruby sighed again. "Well, you see, Blake might not be who we thought she was."

Penny gasped. "Is she a _man_?"

Ruby stopped walking. "No, no, she's not a man, Penny. In all honesty, I don't know what she is. It's not like she actually talked to us before she up and ran off."

"I don't have many friends," Penny began. "But if I did, I'd want them to talk to me about things."

Ruby turned away, saddened now. "Yeah.. Me too.."

 **A/N: Don't worry, lovelies, I know. I know I said that this would be a Fun Day, but I couldn't help but turn it into a chance for the teams to find out about Blake. So I'll push back the Vytal Festival, and make next chapter them finding Blake, and then the next day they'll ACTUALLY do the funs. So enjoy this cliffhanger, mes beaux Seraphim, and await the next upload for this story!**

 **In the meantime, y'all should go check out my Steven Universe fanfiction, There's Two Sides To Every Gem. You might enjoy that as well.**

 **As always, leave a review!**

 **Tata~~!**


	12. Tsukino's Revenge

**Author's note: Ah, the wonders of stretching the imagination thin. Don't worry, my friends, I'll continue these stories. I may just break from time to time to recuperate my mind center.**

 **Rambling again. Apologies. Enjoy the read, lovelies!**

Blake and Sun were laying on top of a warehouse by the docks in the middle of the night, munching on some snacks Sun had 'appropriated' from a nearby vendor. "You do know you aren't helping how people view Faunus by stealing, right?" Blake chided the monkey.

He took another bite of the apple in his hand, and swallowed. "Hey, I left money in return! Just not immediately in his hands.." The blonde boy defended. "Besides, if we can bust the White Fang tonight, I'd say half the town would be in our debt." He added confidently, crossing his arms.

Blake only hoped two things: That it wasn't the White Fang, or that they could stop them if White Fang really was behind all the Dust robberies. She REALLY hoped it was the former, but deep down, the black haired cat Faunus had a feeling it would be the latter.

And wouldn't cha know it, five minutes later, three or four Bullhead airships swooped toward the docks, and out jumped some 15 to 20 White Fang members along with...

"Torchwick… What are the White Fang doing? They would never work with a human!" Blake exclaimed. She jumped from the warehouse, and landed behind Torchwick. Removing her bow, she held an unsheathed Gambol Shroud to his neck. "Brothers of the White Fang, why are you aiding this human scum?" she cried out.

Torchwick shook his head, and aimed Melodic Cudgel at the ground near Blake's feet. "Oh, my sweet child. You must not have gotten the memo." He cooed, pulling the trigger and sending Blake flying backwards, directly into a Schnee Dust Container. Apparently, it was filled with Fire Dust, because the container EXPLODED, sending Blake slamming into Sun, and causing a large plume of sparkling smoke to rise into the air like a signal.

"My employers and I have a deal with the Leader of the White Fang, Kitty." Torchwick said, with the biggest 'You were saying?' smile on his face. "Well, don't just stand around being useless. Get them."

Half of the White Fang broke away from collecting the rest of the Dust containers to take care of Blake and Sun, the latter of whom had already recovered enough to stand and bring out his staff to protect the former as she recovered. "Let me know when you're alright, Blake. Until then, don't worry about a thing." Sun said as he knocked three Faunus away.

While the three who were knocked away recovered, two more rushed Sun wielding swords. They swung simultaneously, believing this to be the best method to defeating the Monkey Faunus. Unfortunately for them, Sun was, in fact, aware that he was a monkey, and he used this to his advantage. He jumped onto his staff, avoiding the blades, and then kicked the two White Fang in the face, sending them sprawling to the ground, unconscious. He jumped back to the ground, splitting his staff into a pair of nunchucks, and rushing Torchwick.

The assault was spectacular from Blake's perspective. Sun was bombarding Torchwick with nunchuck swipes, and shotgun blasts as well. She understood what he called that staff Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang; they were shotgun nunchucks… Shotgunchucks! She got up, smiling at her own little name for his weapons, and picked up Gambol Shroud. "Sun, I'm up! Give me an opening!" She called, readying herself to attack Torchwick.

She found the opening. The next attack from Sun would leave Torchwick's left flank open, and he'd be off balance. Blake took the chance as soon as she saw it, charging toward Torchwick. She swung down at his left leg, to find he had not only knocked off Sun's attack faster than she anticipated, but he blocked Gambol Shroud with his cane! Blake knew what would happen next.

Torchwick smirked. "You know what happens to bad pets, don't you, Kitty?" He nudged her ankle with Melodic Cudgel. "Bad pets get punished!" He pulled the trigger, sending her and Sun flying backwards. Again.

I looked over the roofs of the buildings to find a huge pillar of smoke. "I'll bet ya twenty Lien that that's where Blake is, Red."

Ruby looked worried. "We gotta get there fast! Blake could be really hurt! Penny, Tsukino, let's go!"

Penny saluted. "On it, Ruby, my friend!" Before she could run off, I grabbed her arm.

"Listen, Penny.. I appreciate the gusto to help Ruby, but are you sure you can handle this? You look pretty… Undefended," I said, looking her up and down. I didn't see a piece of weaponry on her.

She smiled, and gave me a thumbs up. "Don't worry, Tsukino. I can handle myself."

I sighed, and we ran off to the smoke, waaaay behind Ruby. I had Silver Lining and Stained Silver sheathed, and I could feel their apprehension as well.

I just hope that Blake hasn't done anything too stupid….

~ _Five Minutes Later…_ ~

Blake has done something incredibly stupid. Not only did she abandon her team after slipping that she was ex-White Fang, she staked out a potential White Fang robbery location. And the White Fang showed up.

"Goddamn it, Blake…" I murmured as I saw her laying over a monkey Faunus.

Ruby and Penny both tried to stop Bowler Hat, with Penny shooting a laser beam and destroying several Bullheads. Still, they weren't able to stop the guy. I stepped from the shadows. "Hey, Bowler Hat!" I shouted.

He turned, and I swear I heard a blood vessel burst. "So, Silver, what're you doing prowling around so late? Don't you have homework you need to do?" He called back. "Although I'm overjoyed you've come to see me again. I believe we have a debt that needs settling."

I smirked, and cracked my knuckles. That we do, Bowler Hat. That we do. "Where's your little Fire Witch friend? Y'all break up or something? Honestly, I'm surprised you could even GET a girlfriend."

I knew what he was capable of, and goading him may not have been the best idea, but this was sort of my way of repaying Ruby for letting me get after him. I hopped down to check on Penny and Ruby. "You girls alright?"

Ruby nodded, and Penny gave me another thumbs up. "Sorry, Tsukino. Looks like I'm not entirely combat ready yet." She said, with a small smile.

I drew Silver Lining. I shouldn't necessarily need Stained Silver. "Don't worry, Penny. I am. Just make sure Blake and that Faunus she's on are alright, yeah?" I said, glaring Bowler Hat down. "I've got some personal business to attend to."

Penny nodded, and asked one final question before I went off. "Is he your friend, Tsukino?"

"No."

I took off, gathering mana. Bowler Hat raised his glorified pistol and took a pot shot at me, which I deflected into the air. I pushed the mana into Silver Lining, and when I slammed it into his cane, a bolt of lightning struck Bowler Hat, setting his stupid hat and suit on fire. I knocked his cane up into the air, and slashed him across the chest, right shoulder to left hip. It wasn't a deep cut, but I still landed a solid hit.

The smoldering suit wearer was beyond pissed at me. "You know what, Silver? I think I've had enough of you, and your little schoolmates. Kill the children, you good for nothing mutts. We'll secure the containers after I see the docks flooded with their blood."

Something about hearing someone like him ordering his henchmen to kill my friends shattered my mercy. "I hope you have some good shovels on those Bullheads, you redheaded jackass. And just for the records, I'll give you a list of your utter screw-ups today."

I ran to protect my friends, cutting deep wounds into White Fang members that stood in my way. "Mistake One was robbing that shop: It put you onto my List." I spun, and sliced from the hand of a White Fang Faunus to their shoulder. "Mistake Two was deciding to join the White Fang: The target on your back just grows bigger." I blew away three more Faunus, and watched as Torchwick's face blanched. "Mistake Three was trying to steal this Dust: You've now alerted all of Vale what were planning." I walked slowly to Torchwick, who was too scared to move. I just decimated his forces. "Mistake Four was attacking my friends." I knocked his stupid cane from his hand, sending it sprawling into the water. I glared at him in pure hatred and rage. "And your final mistake was telling your goons to kill my friends."

Ruby, Blake, Penny and Sun looked on as Tsukino easily overpowered the White Fang and listed off how Torchwick had screwed up. Ruby and Penny were scared that Tsukino was going to kill Torchwick, while Sun and Blake were concerned that Tsukino might turn on them because they were Faunus. Blake was especially worried because she had a feeling he knew about her involvement with the White Fang.

So when they heard the sound of metal ripping flesh, saw blood spew from Torchwick, and heard the body fall to the ground, Blake was poised to run as the other three would cover her: They knew how badly this could turn out.

"You'd better hope to whatever God or Goddess you pray to that we never, EVER cross paths again, Roman Torchwick. Because next time…" He paused, leaning down to get in Torchwick's face. " **YOU WON'T BE GETTING OUT ALIVE.** "

The four tensed as he stood straight up, watching Torchwick grab his metaphorical shit and book it from the psycho who just handed him his ass. He turned, but before he could say anything, Yang and Weiss showed up.

Yang whistled, while Weiss walked straight up to Blake. "I don't want to hear a word from you until I'm done, got it?" The princess commanded. At this point, Blake was too scared to fight back, so she nodded. "Do you have any idea how long it took us to find you? It took 14 hours. It took the rest of your team, plus extra, to find you. And during those fourteen hours I thought about how you ran off without an explanation." Weiss put her hand on Blake's shoulder. "Blake, we're a team now. You know that."

Ruby nodded, as did Yang. "She's right, Blake. We're a team- No, a _family_ \- and it isn't good to hide stuff like this," the young girl pointed out. "Next time, instead of running away, you should just talk to us."

Blake nodded, smiled, and cursed herself for being stupid.

"Hey, Blake!" Tsukino's voice rang in her ears. "I'd like to have a discussion with you."

Penny, Sun, Ruby, and Blake tensed up again. Yang was confused. "Why are you all-?" Sun cut her off. He pointed to the fallen White Fang members, then to Tsukino, then to the blood trail that belongs to Torchwick.

Yang's eyes widened, and she instinctively got into a defensive stance. "Holy shit, he did that by himself?"

Before Sun could answer, they all heard Tsukino walk toward them. His Aura was fully flared up, a dark purple color and making him appear more like a demon than a guy. They drew their weapons to ward off the beast, terrified for their lives.

Then they heard Lilly from behind him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Everybody calm down! Tsukino isn't going to hurt anybody else today! Put away your weapons!"

Her words shocked some sense into them, and the various sounds of weapons being sheathed or put away echoed around the docks. She walked through them, taking Blake's hand. She led her to Tsukino, and the three of them walked off.

One thought clouded their minds: ' _I hope she comes back safe._ '

I didn't know: A, that the three of them knew their way around the city better than most residents; B, that there are cafes open this late; and C, that they knew where those cafes are. But I wasn't thinking about that right now. Despite Lilly's earlier claim, I was scared that Tsukino was still going to hurt me, or even kill me.

He sat across from me, drinking some coffee. "Man, I shouldn't have enjoyed kicking his ass as much as I did, but… I did." He shook his head. "Off Topic. Sorry. Anyways, Blake, I have a question for you." Wait, what? "Are you still a part of the White Fang?"

I shook my head almost immediately. "N-No, I'm not. I left a few months before I came to Beacon." I stammered out. "I promise to you, I'm not lying."

Serah and Lilly looked at one another, while Tsukino stared at me. "Why did you that last par- Oh. OH. Blake, I had no intentions of calling you a liar or anything like that. You sound like you're scared of me." He paused. "It's because I wiped those White Fang members, isn't it?"

I nodded sheepishly, feeling heat rise to my face. "A little, yeah… You went berserk, and showed them very little mercy."

He chuckled. "Oh, my darling Blake, I wasn't even mad. If I were to go Berserk, you'd know." That thought alone scared me far more than anything else I'd seen today. "Now, another question for you."

I sat at attention, because his tone became much, MUCH, darker. Even Serah and sweet Lilly were looking at me with something in their eyes. Not hate, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Do you regret your actions? Do you regret any and everything you did while you were a part of the _violent_ White Fang?"

I was shocked. He already knew that the White Fang hasn't always been violent? "Yes. I regret all of my actions against humans with the new White Fang." I said with confidence.

This seemed to be the answer he was looking for, and all three returned to their normal state of appearance: No darkness, just adorable and relaxed.

I'm glad they accepted me for who I am now, not who I was.

Roman knew that he made a very bad mistake when he let his anger get the better of him. He knew Cinder would be pissed at him, but when he found himself on fire, FOR THE SECOND TIME, he realized just how deep he had fallen.

' _This is bad..._ ' He thought as he jumped into a nearby lake to extinguish himself

The next day, the teams went out again, and they had genuine fun. Ruby, Yang, Lilly, Serah, Nora, and Velvet went shopping for clothes and some other stuff, while Blake, Fox, and Yatsuhashi started an intense debate about Blake's favorite book, _Ninjas Of Love_. Weiss ran off to make a call, and Jaune vanished somewhere with Lie Ren, leaving only Coco, Pyrrha, and Tsukino

"I'm surprised you didn't go with the other girls, Coco." Tsukino commented as he stared into the sky. "I figured you would go, so you give the other girls "proper fashion" tips."

Cocoa got in front of him, in her signature sassy stance. "You know something, Tsuki-boy? You're the first guy not on my team to figure out my other passion. I would've loved to go with them. But Velvet has a fashion sense more suited to them. Besides, it almost sounds like you want me gone. Did you want some alone time with Pyrrha here?" She suggested slyly, with devilish grin gracing her lips.

Pyrrha blushed, and Tsukino shook his head. "Nah. Pyrrha's beautiful, but I think she's way outta my league. Plus, I'm quite sure she's crushing on a certain blonde hair leader~?"

Pyrrha blushed even harder, and Coco started pressing her for details. The redhead glared at Tsukino. "I hate you so much," she mouthed to the cyan haired boy, who simply gave her an evil grin. She already had her revenge plan set up: If and when he starts crushing on a girl (or guy, she didn't judge), she would tell Coco almost immediately. ' _A taste of your own medicine, Tsukino Shinoha. Look forward to it._ '

After about 20 minutes of thoroughly embarrassing Pyrrha, the teams met up for a big ol' Together Lunch, then headed down to the cliffs to look over the water. Teams JNPR and RWBY played a game of four-on-four volleyball, while Team CFVY headed back to Beacon (They had some work left to do). Team STL simply watched as RWBY utterly stomped JNPR, with some incredible team callouts from Ruby. "She's certainly gotten more settled into her role, huh?" Serah asked no one in particular. "And they've come to accept her as their leader undeniably."

The three foreigners thought back to the beginning of school, when Weiss and Ruby would clash, and Yang and Blake wouldn't follow Ruby's orders all the time, or spun the leader's words to fit their own ideas. But Ruby is a competent leader, and an incredible friend. She managed to meld together the sharpness of Weiss, the overbearingness of Yang, the apprehensiveness of Blake, and her own adorableness as well, making for one interesting and powerful team.

Lilly gave a small squeal, and blushed hard. "Sis, I just remembered something!" She exclaimed. "You know what we used to do when we met new groups of friends, right?"

Serah's eyes brightened, and it dawned on Tsukino what was going to happen. "Oh, I know, sis. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" The elder Verron sister asked, to which the younger sister nodded energetically.

"GUYS, YOU MIGHT WANT TO START RUNNING BEFORE MY TEAMMATES GET THEIR HANDS ON YOU!" Tsukino shouted, trying to keep a grip on his two partners. They were fighting with an animalistic ferocity to escape and have their kind of fun: Shipping.

As it turns out, even Jaune is as fast as Ruby when he has two fangirl-shipper girls chasing him. Unfortunately, they managed to catch every single member of both teams, Ruby and Weiss included. "I tried to warn you guys. I should've shouted sooner, but they would've probably caught you all faster." Tsukino said, watching from about 5 feet away as the girls figured out who should go with who, and in which category that would go into.

~ _45 Minutes Later..._ ~

Team STL was back in their room, with Serah and Lilly asleep. They dreamt about their newfound OTPs, while Tsukino was talking with teams RWBY and JNPR. It was your usual teenager topics: Homework, complaining about teachers and classmates, planning hangout sessions in the future, future goals, etc. Then Jaune asked the one thing Tsukino had hoped everyone had forgotten about. "What was up with you guys the day you mopped the floor with Cardin? You and your teammates seemed way out of it." He said. Well, at least he's observant.

Suddenly, the entire room went silent, as the other two teams were staring at Tsukino. He sighed, and laid back on the floor. "Well, you already know myself and the Verron sisters aren't from Remnant. I still haven't figured out how or why, but we were plucked from our world and sent here. But, there was actually a fourth member, somebody who actually wielded Lilly's other form, Stained Silver." And the cyan-haired boy launched into the story of his fallen partner, and their third sister Venus Verron.

Once he finished, he wiped his tears from his face, and sat up to find that everyone had that same look, at different levels. Half of RWBY and JNPR had tears streaming down their cheeks as well, and the other half had tears welling up. "That was about 4 years ago."

This piece of news shocked them all. He lost a very close friend, and they lost a sister, four years ago, and they can still be that happy? That's very impressive, especially for someone Lilly's age.

"I wasn't expecting much of a different reaction. This usually is what we get when we tell new friends." Tsukino said with a sigh, thinking of home.

' _I wonder how everybody else is doing right now..._ '

 **A/N: I am so glad I waited this long. This was a solid 7 pages' worth of writing, and I feel as thought I've done well with what has happened. I certainly you enjoyed reading, and thought this was worth the wait. As usual, my beautiful Seraphim, leave a review, and favorite/follow!**

 **Tata~~!**


	13. A Bad Idea Gets Worse

**Author's Notes: Hello, My lovely Seraphim readers. I can only imagine how excited you all are for the Vytal Festival Tournament battles. However, since I've teased it a ton, I think I might show off a bit more of Tsukino's homeworld, Coronexia. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and so, without further adieu…**

 **READING…. START!**

After a successful raid on a merchant city in the Kingdom of Gran Pulse, several Blue Phoenix warriors sat around a pile of rubble. "Man, without that Silver Demon around, things have gotten waay easier." One warrior said, leaning back and looking at the destruction. "We're slowly gaining ground on those Royal Scumbags."

His friends nodded in agreement. Ever since that Silver Demon bastard mysteriously vanished, the Gran Pulse knights had lost a lot of morale, and these recent raids only further lowered it. The Blue Phoenix Rebellion had gotten that much needed upper hand; they were running out of supplies.

Sadly, they were still losing large hordes of men. And these soldiers were no exception. Steel tipped bolts protruded from the warriors' necks, and they fell to the ground, dead.

The sharpshot in question leaned back, and sighed. The insignia on her armor defines her as a member of the Blue Phoenix, but in reality she was a spy for the Kingdom of Gran Pulse. She was performing her job well: Gathering intelligence on the rebellion's operations and leaders, picking off key targets, and just overall lowering the Blue Phoenix's headcount. ' _Damn it all… This would be so much easier if Tsuki were here..._ '

That has been the thought of every Gran Pulse knight since their strongest fighter up and vanished. It had been three or months, and they desperately needed their Silver Demon back.

Still, though, they couldn't just give up. They had a sacred duty to protect the innocent civilians from these tyrannical Rebels. The Blue Phoenix's ideals were too radical, and it would be the demise of the Kingdom.

"Conquer, Burn, Rise from the ashes." The motto of the Blue Phoenix. It held a much darker meaning. If they can manage to take the throne from His Majesty, King Dauna, then the Blue Phoenix plan to set the entire kingdom aflame, and build their new, war-mongering kingdom. Once they've done that, it's like a cycle: Conquer new lands, burn away all traces of the previous civilization, and raise a new country from the ashes.

No, the Knights of Gran Pulse could not allow such an atrocity to occur. The mere idea of so many innocent lives lost because a small group desires world domination made her blood boil up. "I have so much more work to do here alone." She murmured, standing up, and tracking down the next squadron. "Don't worry, Tsuki… Whenever you get back, you'll have a lot less work to do."

At least, that was her hope. Since the war began 5 years ago, Tsuki had climbed through the ranks so quickly, and tore through the Blue Phoenix so effectively, that he ended up being allowed to… Well, basically tell COs to go bite him. THAT'S how far ahead he sprung.

But, to be fair, he did some crazy strength, and weapons. That greatsword of his really wrecked shop, and- The girl clapped her face. ' _Stop, Hinamara! You're thinking about him like that again! You've got work to do!_ '

She quickly shook her head, and set up her next Crossbow Triple Shot attack. If she wanted to land herself the strongest warrior known to Man, she'd need to prove her worth to him. Even if he isn't there to see her do it.

She has to prove herself….

~ _Meanwhile..._ ~

Why did they call an assembly first thing in the morning? Nobody is awake enough for this, not even WEISS. "Man, this had better be worth my sleep time," I groaned. The others were in agreement. Even the Ice Queen Weiss agreed, and we clashed on quite a lot.

But, as soon as we saw Ozpin and Goodwitch go on, everybody was totally alert. Makes sense, considering how the guy carries himself, and the feeling he gives off. "Good morning students. We would usually never call this type of assembly, but we did receive some… Interesting news."

I felt his eyes bore into my head. ' _Oh crap… He can't mean… OH CRAP!_ '

He continued. "I'm sure you have heard the rumors of the recent attempted robbery by the White Fang. Well, it is true that they attempted to take off with several Schnee Dust Company shipping containers."

The room erupted into murmurs. While I wasn't too zeroed in, I heard some things like "How could he be so calm?", "They got away with it, right?", etc. He cleared his throat, returning the room to silence.

"If you heard my phrasing, many of you would have heard that I said they attempted. They did not succeed. Their plans were foiled by several students, both from our own school, as well as a student from Atlas and from Haven. I will not name our students, however, they will need to see me afterwards: We have some things to discuss." Ozpin said, automatically singling out who he meant. Great.

"Now everybody's gonna wait outside of his office to see who did it…" Yang muttered. She wasn't wrong.

I facepalmed. "Damn it, Oz… You knew what you were saying…" I muttered, and looked over at my teammates. They shared the same look I knew to be on my face.

The ones that fended off the White Fang were myself, Blake, Ruby, Sun, Penny, Serah, and Lilly. We knew there would be some repercussions for our actions afterwards, but we had to make sure that our friends were okay, and that THEY didn't get any of that Dust. Though, I've never really seen anyone except Weiss use the stuff, and even then, she uses it maybe 50% of the time.

Ozpin walked off stage, and Goodwitch replaced him. "While we have you here, I'd like to remind you all of the upcoming Vytal Festival. This year, we've decided to let you all the week before off for training purposes. So no classes. If you would like extra help concerning certains aspects of your training, you may come to the teachers for assistance. That is all. Dismissed."

Everybody walked out, and the aforementioned group left for Ozpin's office discreetly. "Gah, this blows.."

Blake shot me a weird look. "You really should learn to watch your mouth around Ruby. You know how Yang can get."

I blanched. "That is one scary chick, ya know? How is someone like her related to someone as adorable and sweet as you, Red?" I questioned, comparing the raging yellow monster to a kawaii redhaired anime girl.

We entered Oz's office, and I was clutched a swelling lump on my head. "I still don't understand why you had to use Crescent Rose for that, Red…" Everybody else was laughing at my misfortune.

Lilly especially was smug. Like, it was radiating off of her. "That's what you get, Tsukino!"

Ozpin himself had a small smile. "Good morning, students."

We all stopped screwing around. "Good morning, Professor Ozpin," we chimed together, in total sync.

He gestured to the seats around his office, and we each took a spot. Blake sat in the chair closest to his desk, Ruby and Lilly sat on the floor around her, Serah sat across from Blake, and I sat against the wall. "First, let me say… I'm impressed with how well you held yourselves during the attempted theft. No one faltered, even in the presence of immense danger," He complimented, respecting our resolve. "However, I must also say that someone should have contacted the police. You are all still students at my school, and you put yourselves in significantly more danger than you needed to be in. Especially you, Miss Belladonna, and you, Mr. Shinoha."

Both of our heads drooped. He continued. "You both were extremely reckless in your actions, endangering the lives of your friends and civilians as well. Moreover, extensive property damage was caused, and the Schnee Dust Company demands that we pay for the Dust shipment that was destroyed."

I growled a bit. "If I may, Professor?" I asked, and he nodded. "What the crap? We stopped the most dangerous non-Grimm threat from making off with 7 CONTAINERS OF DUST. They lost 1 CONTAINER." I looked at Blake. "Cover her ears real fast. Don't need Yang after my throat again."

She nodded, and covered Ruby's ears. "It's total bullshit!" I finished.

"I agree. However, they are the world's largest producer of Dust. Therefore, we have decided to compromise. They won't charge us for damages, if the ones responsible for said damages can work off the debt."

Of course. Indentured slaves. Blake blanched. "W-Work off the debt? H-how?" She asked, her voice shaking a bit.

"By mining the replacement Dust."

I sighed. "They want the one responsible, right? Who caused the damages?"

He nodded. I stood up, stretching my arms. "Welp, that's unfortunate. I knew letting loose, even a bit, would come back to bite me. Fine, fine. When do they want me there?"

Everyone stared at me. The ones who were there knew it was Blake and Sun who caused the containers to blow up, not me. "T-T-Tsukino, are you s-sure?" Blake stuttered. I nodded.

"Yeah. I gotta pay for my mistakes, right? Otherwise, I ain't gonna learn from 'em." I said, smiling.

Oz closed his eyes. "They want you to be there all next week, Mr Shinoha. Be ready, you may miss the Vytal Festival."

"Fine by me."

~ _Five Minutes Later..._ ~

"You're dismissed." Ozpin declared, sending us off.

As we all started to leave, Oz stopped me. "Another word, Mr Shinoha. If you don't mind."

I shrugged. "Sure, why not? Wait for me in the courtyard, yeah guys?" They nodded, and walked off.

"I know Miss Belladonna was the one to cause the damages. Why did you decide to cover for her?" He asked, sounding genuinely confused. I shrugged again.

"This is the Schnee Dust Company we're talking about. I've heard plenty about how racist they are. So I figured that I'd cover for her. Don't need more negativity surrounding her." I said simply. It was the truth. Her and Weiss told me that Schnee's company was extremely shady and racist toward Faunus.

"I see. Very well. I'll inform them of your arrival. Oh, and Tsukino?"

Holy shit, he called me by my first name. "Y-Yeah?"

His eyes narrowed a bit. "Do try to be respectful to your superiors while you're there. What you say and do there reflects our school. Try and leave a positive image, hm?"

Remembering something from the past, I shrugged. "Sorry, Oz. Can't make any promises on that turf." I walked out of the room, her face flashing across my vision once more. "I never could…" I stopped suddenly, because a black clothed body was blocking me. "Hmm? What's up, Blake?"

I looked up, and the rest of RWBY was there as well. "Uhm… What's… what's happening?" Something weird was going on, and it came to fruition when they turned around and… a-and… "Oh my Irene… What the hell happened to you!?"

 _ **THEIR BODIES WERE ROTTED AWAY.**_

I reached for a blade, only to touch the hand of another corpse: This time, Lilly. "No… No, nonononononono… NO!" I shouted, flaring my Aura and igniting my hands. "This can't be real!"

" _You failed us, Tsukino… You failed… You tried to protect us all, but you failed…"_ They all said slowly, in sync. It was gravelly, like they really were all dead.

The decay was bad enough, but what made it worse was the injuries the girls had. Ruby had a huge hole through her head, like a spear was shot into her, and there was a huge chunk of her stomach missing. Weiss was missing half of her face, and I could see the bleached white bones sticking through her skin. Blake was awful: Her jaw had fallen off, her cat ears were ripped off, and it looked like someone had eaten away parts of her belly and legs. Yang had it the worst of RWBY, with an entire arm gone, as well as her right eye. She was eviscerated, and whoever did it used a blunt or a jagged blade. She had this terrifying smile plastered on her dead face, a smile similar to when she told a really bad pun.

I made the mistake of turning around, and my heart stopped. Serah and Lilly were dead; asphyxiation. They had matching injuries: Stab wound through the stomach, several caved in points, bone shards sticking out, and a pike shoved through their sides.

I know I said asphyxiation, but just described those wounds. Well, their skin was blue, a stereotypical sign of lack of oxygen. "Please… This can't be real…"

" _Tsukino… You were too weak to save us… You could've done… so much more... "_ They stopped, then their heads snapped up unnaturally. " _ **NOW JOIN US! SUFFER AS WE HAVE! SUFFER WHAT YOU'VE DONE!**_ "

They all rushed at me at once, and I felt my body freeze up. The bit and tore at me, rending my flesh away, and ripping me to shreds. The last thing I remember saying before blacking out was "I'm sorry… I'm such a failure… I deserve this…"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When I came to, I was in the Infirmary. I shot into a sitting position, and I felt all over my body for any trace of what I believed to be real: No dice. I breathed deeply. "Just a hallucination…" I said quietly.

"You gave us all quite the scare, Mr. Shinoha," Ozpin said, sitting in the corner.

I jumped. "Irene's Sake, Oz, I just-! S-Sorry, just… Just kinda lived through something that may or may not have scarred me mentally," I sighed, rubbing my forehead. ' _Just what the hell happened back there?_ ' I wondered.

"I see. Well, if it's fine with you, you have some visitors who would like a word."

I nodded, and when the door opened, my heart stopped again. ' _Oh Irene, this hasn't ended!?_ ' Wait, hang on… Their faces aren't dead at all! But they do have CONCERN written all over 'em. I laughed nervously. "H-Hey, guys! How's it… How's it going..?"

The girls ran up to my bed, and the younger ones had the most concern. "Tsukino, what happened!? You walked out of Ozpin's office, took one look at us, and collapsed!" Ruby shout-questioned.

"Damn it all… So, you saw it then?" I asked, embarrassed.

They nodded. I sighed. "I don't exactly know what happened, but it wasn't pleasant. I… No, I don't want to make you worry more."

Serah and Lilly exchanged looks, while Ruby kept attacking me with those adorable eyes. I cracked. I explained what happened, and I watched in grim (Or, should I say Grimm?) satisfaction as their faces drained of color. "I told you, I didn't want to make you worry more."

"The only part that doesn't add up, is what I saw before, when I left Oz's office. I saw…" I paused, and turned to Lilly and Serah. "I saw Venus flash across. I don't know why, but-"

Lilly hugged me tight. Serah, too. "Tsukino… There was something we should've told you about a long time ago.."

" **It's about Venus."**

 **A/N: Hehehe. Sorry if I spooked ya there. Also, cliffhangers. But don't worry too much. Hallucinations are par for the course, as you'll find out later.**

 **I'll make next time about what our lovely girls mean, as well as Tsukino's work paying back Schnee. Then, it's Vytal time.**

 **Tsukino: Ugh… Stupid authors and their stupid notes… JUST END THE DAMN CHAPTER ALREADY!**

 ***agitated sigh* I'll talk to you lovely Seraphim later. Tata~~!**


	14. There's No Way This Plan Could Work

**Author's Notes: Welcome back to the SUPER AMAZING FANFICTION ABOUT RWBY. Like I mentioned last time, this chapter will be about what Serah and Lilly meant when they brought up Venus, as well as Tsukino's work to pay the damages back. I'm also extremely sorry about how long it took me to write this chapter, I've just been having some trouble finding motivation to write, ya know? So, this chapter is three times as long just to make up for it. I'll shut up now so you can read. So read!**

The girls launched into an explanation. "Back when you were still a rookie in the Army, we decided that we would never, ever work with you. You were obnoxious, you were disrespectful, and you were downright stupid. But, as you flew up in rank, and we discovered our true forms thanks to you, Venus decided to "keep an eye on you". She Marked you with a Seer rune, and she could see everything you did. When she died, she came to us in a dream, regretting never removing that Rune." Serah paused, and Lilly continued.

"She said that, since she died, her magic would become unstable and would make you hallucinate awful things. We tried asking her how to remove the rune, but she was restricted from saying."

Tsukino shook his head. "So… All this time, and she didn't even say a word." He laid back in the bed. "Sounds just like her, too."

Serah did a double take. "Wait… You aren't, like… mad?"

"Oh, no, I'm absolutely livid. But I'm more interested in if you two can control her old Rune. Same bloodline, and all that jazz." He looked at the ceiling. "Where is the Rune, anyway?"

"We don't… Don't actually know…" Lilly said apprehensively.

Silence.

Weiss broke the silence by walking up to Tsukino with a concerned look. "Listen, Tsukino, I heard about what you're doing for Blake. I don't like it one bit! The Faunus that my father had enslaved hate humans, and you're going to work right next to them! What if they gang up on you? What are you going to do then? You won't have your weapons, you won't-"

Tsukino put a finger to her lips. "Princess? You clearly forget who I am. I know your father is an ass, and I know the Faunus there hate humans. But you're actually worried about them ganging up on me?" He sat up, with a fierce determination in his eyes. "I have no intention of fighting those Faunus. I have no intention of fighting ANY Faunus, except for the White Fang."

He turned to Blake next. "If you hear any reports of me hurting another Faunus from Weiss or Ozpin, then I give you permission to kick my crap in next time you see me. Ok?"

Blake nodded, blushing a bit. ' _He's doing this all for me… Even letting me get payback if he hurts anyone… Just how much more reckless can this boy get?_ ' "You have yourself a deal, Tsukino Shinoha."

He smiled, and got out of bed. "Man, I hate sitting on my hands. Listen, Princess, mind bringing me to the Mine? I'd like to do this as quickly as possible, and I want to start right now."

Weiss just stared at him. "And you're sure you want to do this? I feel like your teammates should have a say in this matter." She turned to face Serah and Lilly, with her hands on her hips. "Well?"

The elder sister sighed. "Look, when he sets his mind onto something like this, there's no point in trying to change it. Trust me when I say JUST GIVE UP." The younger sister nodded, with a small giggle.

Weiss facepalmed. "Fine, fine, fine. I'll take you. Just…" She sighed. "Just don't do anything stupid, alright?"

That same flash again, and they began to shift. However, not wanting another repeat of what happened, Tsukino forced himself to fight the hallucination, going so far as to use a spell to render the rune useless. "I can't promise so much, Princess. But I will promise to try my best."

She accepted this, and called up some people. Twenty minutes later, the two of them were on a transport airship to the Schnee Dust Mines. "Honestly, Tsukino… You're a real nutcase, you know? You should have let Blake go! She would've at least received a warmer welcome from the other Faunus."

"So what? The humans would've hated on her, and probably kept her long after she paid her debts. Besides, I get the distinct feeling she believes I hate her because of her White Fang heritage. This has more than one purpose, Weiss."

She left her seat, and got in his face. "So what will you do when the Faunus try to attack you? You're a human too, and I've heard stories-" He cut her off again.

"I'll just dodge them. I'm keeping my promise to Blake, Princess. If I'm fighting anybody, it'll be the human guards, or the Warden. I'm not a One Trick, Weiss. Or did you forget this?"

She scoffed, and crossed her arms, annoyed. "Of course I haven't forgotten, you dolt! I'm just trying to make you think! What you're doing is extremely dangerous, Tsukino! They could kill you in your sleep."

"Then I'll just have to get them to trust me. Show 'em that I'm not a racist."

She was taken aback. "Wow… They weren't kidding. You really are stubborn." She resigned herself back to her seat. "I'm staying as well. We have no classes, so I'm visiting my family. Besides, I promised the others I'd bring them to see you while you're working."

He nodded. After an hour or so of flying, they arrived. Weiss' father, Jacques Schnee, was waiting on the landing platform, as well was who Tsukino could assume was the Warden. "Ah. Weiss, my beautiful daughter! I heard that you were coming, but I didn't realize you were bringing the perpetrator with you. So, this is the person who cost us a container of Dust?" Her father asked, looking me up and down, assuming I couldn't do anything of that magnitude.

Weiss nodded her head stiffly. "Yes, Father. This is Tsukino Shinoha, and he wished to work the debt off as quickly as possible in anticipation of the Vytal Festival." Jeez. She was even starting to sound like a Princess.

Tsukino bowed. "So you're Weiss' father? I must say, you certainly live up to your reputation, sir. I'm honored to have met you, even if it was over the destruction of your cargo."

Weiss hid her shock. ' _He can speak properly!?_ ' Her father chuckled a bit. "You seem like a wonderful young man, Mister.. Shinoha, was it? And very eager to repay your debts. I'd be happy to let this little incident slide, if you'd like. You must be itching to attend the Festival" He smiled in a certain way, and Weiss knew what that smile was. That was his patented "Close the Deal, 100% Guaranteed" smile.

Tsukino declined him. "While I appreciate the offer, I'm going to have to refuse. I said that I would repay the debt, and I never go back on my word. A matter of pride, if you will."

Weiss allowed herself a small smile. ' _Unfortunately for you, Father, this boy here doesn't think like you at all. If he did, he would've been long dead._ '

They were led to the Mine area, and Tsukino was informed of how much Dust was destroyed. "I'm terribly sorry about the trouble I've caused, sir. I promise I'll make it up to you as quickly as possible!" He said, screaming internally. ' _ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!? BLAKE AND SUN DESTROYED 17 TONS OF DUST!? WHAT KIND OF CRAP IS THIS?_ '

And so, he grabbed a Mining Tool, and pocketed some of the basic crystals for a spell, and went off to the mines. As he walked, he felt a LOT of glaring eyes on him, and a few murmurs about a human that he ignored.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I began to mine up Fire Dust, when I heard some footsteps behind me. ' _Oh, we're already starting this? Fine, whatever.._ ' "Who's behind me?" I asked, not stopping my mining.

"You know, pal, it ain't polite to have your back turned when you're speaking to someone. We may be stuck here, but we're top of the food chain. Show some respect, pal." A gruff voice said with confidence. Apparently, they expected me to quiver in my boots.

I turned to face a Wolf Faunus, a Gorilla Faunus, and a Bull Faunus. "Is there something I can help you guys with? I'm a mite busy, trying to pay back 17 tons' worth of damages."

The Bull laughed, and the Gorilla snorted. "Hmph. You humans are always wrecking shit up. Let me guess: You tried to pawn off on a "Faunus dirtbag", but got busted anyway, right?" The Wolf guessed.

"Man, you could not be farther from the truth. Actually, you have it reversed. A couple of Faunus caused the damages fighting the White Fang, and I took the blow for them." I turned around again. "Somehow, I imagine that, had they come instead of me, they never would have left the mines." I continued my mining, collecting a half ton of Dust from a massive vein I found using my spell. They left me alone after that, and I collected another half ton. I carried the boxes to the Drop Off area, when I heard a small yelp from behind me. A little girl had dropped a box she was carrying, and it broke apart, sending extremely volatile Dust everywhere.

A Guard walked up behind her menacingly, with a whip in his hand. He let it fall uncoiled, and raised it above his head. Just as he was bringing it down, I stretched my arm out, and let the whip wrap around me instead of letting it hit the girl. I helped the little Lion Faunus girl up, and helped her collect her Dust. "A-Are you okay, Mister..?" She asked so innocently.

It reminded me a lot of Red and Lilly. I smiled, and ruffled her hair. "I'm fine, kiddo. Say, where are your parents? Aren't you a little young to be here on your own?" I asked, and she teared up a bit. "Oh… I'm sorry, kiddo. I didn't mean to upset you." I pulled her into a warm hug, calming her before she even went off.

She hugged me back, and told me her parents were very injured, and that she was here to pay back the hospital bills. She's been here for about four years, and they won't let her go until she's completed paid back her parents' bills.

I got the feeling she's long since paid the bills, and they're just extorting her for labor. I glared at the back of the guard, and patted her head. "You should probably get back to work, kiddo. Your parents are counting on you, alright? I'll come over and help you later on. That way, you can finally see your mom and dad again. Sound good?"

She smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Mister!" She said cheerily, running back to her post.

I growled under my breath. These people… Using the Faunus as cheap labor, treating them like slaves… It made me sick. I went back to my mine, and dug up 3 tons of Electric Dust before helping the little Lion Faunus carry her mined Dust to the dropoff point.

I was tired when they let me go to sleep, but I powered through until they allowed the Faunus to sleep, which was at about 2 in the morning. I collapsed into my cot, and soon found the little girl curled up next to me. I found out her name was Leona, and that she was the youngest of six siblings. I held her close, like an overprotective brother. I had the worst feeling that coming here was a terrible idea, but I made a promise. I pulled out my Scroll, and messaged Weiss.

 _You: Hey, Princess. How many of these workers have finished off paying debts or whatever?_

 _Weiss: I'll check. Give me a moment_

 _Weiss: Ugh, why am I not surprised? About three-fourths of them are being kept against their will unknowingly. Why?_

 _You: I get the feeling that they'll find some bullshit excuse to keep me here. I mined out four tons of Dust on my own._

 _Weiss: Holy shit,Tsukino! I thought you meant you wanted an extra day to work when you said you wanted it done as quickly as possible!_

 _You: Well, I also met a young Faunus child who's being held here. Leona, she's a Lion Faunus._

 _Weiss: Leona…_

 _Weiss: Yeah, she should be very free right now._

 _You: This is going to be a No Shit Sherlock moment, but your father's an ass. Anyways, I'll talk to you later. I need sleep._

I put my Scroll away, and drifted off to sleep.

- _The Next Day..-_

Leona and I woke up around the same time, and we got to work after breakfast. Coming from Beacon, and a usual full plate, seeing this food here made me even more disgusted. I made a quick headcount of the workers, and asked if I could make use of the kitchen. When I got the all clear, I went in and made proper food for everyone. "Oi, you lot! Come get some actual food!" I shouted to the workers.

I smiled as they all came to get real food, and wolfed it all down, especially the wolf Faunus. Afterwards, I made my own food, and ate with everyone else. I could tell the guards were seething, but I really didn't give a flying rat's ass.

When everybody finished, we went to work mining. I mined up another 4 tons of Water Dust, and 3 tons of Earth Dust, the latter of which was hard to distinguish from the rocks within it. Eleven tons down, six more to go. I feel like they're going to extort me for every ton I can mine, but I've got a plan in mind.

At the end of the day, all of team RWBY came to visit. Blake was beyond embarrassed, and Ruby was worried about the growing welt from the whip.

"Red, it's nothing. Just a bruise from a whip-"

"Hold up, WHAT!?" Weiss interrupted.

"-That I wouldn't let hit a Faunus girl." I finished, unfazed

"HOLD UP, **WHAT!?** " They all shouted.

"Is it really that hard to understand, you guys? There was a little Faunus girl, she dropped a crate of Dust on accident, and this guard tried to whip her for it. I blocked it with my arm. Simple as that." I summarized, internally facepalming. "I swear, you guys are way too concerned about me right now."

"Well, to be fair, you're kind of working in a slave mine as an indentured servant to, and mind my language Weiss, no offense. Also Ruby, cover your ears," Yang started. When Ruby's ears were sufficiently covered, she continued. "The biggest jackass on Remnant. HOW COULD WE **NOT** BE CONCERNED?"

Weiss nodded. "She's not wrong, Tsukino. I've heard Father talking about keeping you here because the insane amount of work you do and-"

"Lemme stop you there. I figured as much, gathering by what you told me last night. So I've made a plan."

Blake spoke up. "Please don't do anything more reckless than this, Tsukino. This is my fault, and if you somehow end up in a worse position, I'd never forgive myself.." She looked so desperate for me NOT to do this, but… Hey, everybody needs a backdoor, right?

"Don't worry about me, Blake. It may be your fault, but it was MY decision to do this, not yours. If anyone is to blame for my current position, it's me." I said. "Besides, my idea is a bit of a one sided deal anyway. A rigged gambling game, if you will. I'm gonna make a bet with your father, Weiss."

Weiss sighed. "I should've known it would be something crazy like that, Tsukino. Alright, fine, what are your terms?"

"I'll fight his strongest warrior, or the strongest creature he can find, or something like that. If I win, he forgets my debts and I can go free. If I lose, then… Guess I'm S.O.L, huh?" (For those of you who don't know, S.O.L means Shit Outta Luck)

I earned a hard slap from all of them, almost at once. They each launched into various reasons why this was an abysmal idea, and they all had excellent points. As I rubbed my cheek, I thought back to home. "You know, this isn't the worst bet I've ever made. This doesn't even make it into the top ten, in all honesty." I said casually. "Worst bet I ever made was fighting a deity for lives of my whole world. As you can see, I'm very much alive."

Their jaws dropped, in awe or in fear, I wasn't sure. Of course, I also didn't mention how I very, VERY nearly lost to said Deity, but that's for another time. "You're crazy. You know that? You're an absolute madman," Weiss finally exclaimed. "But, crazy as you are, I think it's better that way. If you weren't, we would've lost a teammate."

I smiled. "Glad to be of assistance, Princess."

 _~At the End of the Week…~_

"Ah, Mister Shinoha! How wonderful to see you once again!" Jacques began. "It is with a saddened heart I must inform you we received some late numbers. It seems that the damage you caused was triple was we originally stated, making your debt fifty-one tons of Dust." He said, with the hint of a smirk at his lips. He clearly expected me to blanch and tremble at such a high 'toll'.

I sighed. "Right. Cutting the crap. See, I know how you operate, Jacques Schnee. I figured you'd try to pull some bullshit like this." He clearly didn't like me anymore. I could tell he really wasn't expecting this sort of resistance after my time in his mines.

"Well, if you knew, why did you agree to-"

"If you'd let me finish, I'll tell you. Irene, just because you're the head of the biggest Dust manufacturer in Remnant doesn't equate to you being such an UNbeLIEVEable ass. I want to make a bet with you: Put me against your strongest fighter. Be it Grimm or Human, I'll fight it. If I win, I get to leave. I lose, you keep me as long as you like."

He growled. "I agree to your terms. However, I want to make one change: You get no weapons." He smirked as he said this. "I know of your skill with a blade, and I want this battle to be fair." The CEO of Schnee Dust held his hand out.

I took it, with my own smirk. "I accept your revised terms, Jacques. Just don't expect to see me on the ground."

A few hours later, I found myself in a stadium that had, surprisingly, been FILLED with people. Of those people, I was visited by RWBY, JNPR, and CFVY (Surprise, surprise!). I also got a fifth hard slap from Serah, while Lilly looked scared. "You can't use any weapons?" The younger girl asked.

"No weapons. And I'd wager my opponent has plenty of 'em. Princess?"

The white haired girl nodded, with a grim look on her face. "Yes. From what I saw, they gave her quite a number of weapons, from a simple dagger to a warhammer twice her height. I also believe that they might have done something else, but I couldn't see more of the girl. Poor Faunus…"

Blake looked at me, and I looked at her. "Sorry, Blake… I may end up breaking my promise to you. And it was going so well, too…"

She shook her head. "No, you kept your promise. None of us heard anything about a Faunus injured by you." She said with a smile. Well, at least she says I kept it.

Right. Time to fight. I walked through the iron gate into the arena, and I saw a buff Ox Faunus girl standing at the other end. True to Weiss's words, the girl carried many different types of weapons. But something was incredibly off about this girl. She seemed too aggressive, like someone was controlling her. The way she stood, the way she breathed, it just wasn't natural.

I copied Yang's battle stance, and waited for the match to start. An announcer got the crowd hyped up, then called for the match to begin.

The Ox Faunus rushed me with a speed I didn't think was possible. I sidestepped just in time to dodge a vicious downward stroke of a sword, and I veiled my fist in a shroud of icy mist. I jabbed my fist into her stomach, sending her flying backward into a wall. When the dust cleared away, ice had crept onto all of her weapons. When the girl reached for her next tool of death- The warhammer Weiss mentioned- it shattered in her grip, leaving icy splinters in her hands.

The girl glared daggers at me, and charged me again. This time, she went for a headbutt, which, if those horns hit me, would hurt like Hell. Unfortunately, I wasn't as quick to dodge, and I was trapped between a stadium wall and the aforementioned horns. The crowd let out a collective sound of cringe, and I had the air knocked out of me.

I collapsed onto the earth, and I heard the Ox roar in her assumed victory. Struggling, I stood up, my breathing ragged. My body was shaking hard, and I clenched my hands. I could slowly feel myself slip away from consciousness, but the thought of losing here, to such a disgusting trick, flared something up in me. "That's the last straw.." I murmured, feeling the shaking slowly stop.

"I will not… **I WILL NOT LOSE!** "

They all watched as Tsukino's body was engulfed in a powerful Aura, not unlike how Yang gets when her hair gets cut off. Serah and Lilly both had looks of extreme worry on their faces, which made everyone else worry.

Jaune voiced what everyone was thinking. "W… What IS that power? I-Is that his full strength?"

The girls on Tsukino's team shook their heads. "No, no… This isn't his full strength." Lilly responded. "This is a fraction of what he's capable of." The others watched on, fearing for the Faunus's life.

The two fighters went head to head, and their clash sent out a shockwave. Tsukino's fist, now engulfed in a white fire, was dug into the Ox girl's stomach. While her knee was slammed into his cheek. He expressed no visible sign of pain, while her expression was one of pure pain, and she was sent three hundred feet straight into the air. The crowd's breath was bated, theirs included, before the girl rocketed downward straight into ground. The teams looked up, and there he was, floating in the air, looking pissed as hell.

" **I REFUSE TO LOSE TO SOMEONE LIKE YOU!** " He shouted, shooting straight down like a rocket, headbutting her. They all heard sickening crunch, and they couldn't tell if it was his skull or the poor girl's bones.

The cameras got closer, and there was blood flowing down his forehead. The teams could only catch a glimpse before the cameras were knocked away. Jaune spared a look to Serah and Lilly, and he saw that they were actually really scared. "U-Uhm… I-Is something that we should be scared of?" He asked timidly.

Both girls nodded, and he blanched, going paper white. "Oh good…" He murmured. The blonde boy continued to watch on, praying that the Ox girl survives the encounter.

The match was called a few minutes later, and the Verron sisters jumped the wall, running right for Tsukino. The younger chanted a spell of some kind, while the elder was distracting the enraged swordsman. Serah was actually managing to keep up with Tsukino's crazy speed, and his insane strength.

Until he slammed his foot into the ground.

It may not seem like such a crazy action, but in the state he was in, it caused an earthquake that knocked everyone on their asses. The spell disrupted, Lilly hurried to resume before someone ended up actually dying.

"Yang, Nora, Blake, and I are going to help Serah distract Tsukino. Ren, Pyrrha, Weiss, Jaune, make sure Lilly can finish that spell," Ruby commanded, bringing Crescent Rose. The others nodding, drawing their weapons and splitting off into the assigned groups.

I was chained up in my own consciousness, watching as my body mercilessly attacked everything in my path: First the Ox girl, then my own partner, and then RBY and Nora. I, meanwhile, continued to struggle against the chains, helpless against the thing controlling me. "What do you gain from this, other than an extremely painful death?"

"Why, to see death and cause pain, of course." The voice ringing through my conscious sounded like a darker version of me. "Surely you could've figured that out yourself, my swordsman friend."

I took a deep breath, and channeled mana from my physical body into my current body. Blowing the chains away, I rubbed my wrists, wishing I had some weapon to fight this thing with. "I don't know who you are, but I do know that I have to kick your ass to save my friends." I declared, clenching my fist.

"Aww, Tsuki, isn't that just adorable? You think you can beat me? I know everything about you, all your techniques, and all of your attack patterns. After all-" The thing materialized in front of me, and I took a step back in shock. It _was_ a dark version of me! "-I'm you. Or, more accurately, I'm the culmination of all of your darkest thoughts and actions."

Oh shit. This is REALLY bad. "So, this is what happens when I black out in a battle, huh? You take over, and the physical me goes berserk?" I asked, trying to think of a way to beat this Dark Me.

"That would be the perfect description of what occurs when you black out, yes. I gain full control over your body and wreak havoc on your enemies, and then attempt to kill your "partners" and "friends" before they seal me away again."

I looked at the battle going on outside my conscious, and saw Yang, Nora, Blake, Ruby and Serah all bleeding from different wounds. I could faintly hear Lilly chanting the Sealing Spell, and I sighed in relief a bit.

"It won't work this time, I'm afraid. You see, since you had that hallucination, I've been gaining strength. So that silly little spell of yours simply won't work on me anymore." Dark Me crooned, unsheathing a perverted version of Silver Lining, like it had decayed immensely. "Do you like it, Tsuki? This is the weapon form of Rot Serah, the version you saw in your hallucination: Rusted Edge."

I wasn't sure if it was at all possible, but I felt entirely too ready to puke. "Irene, NO! That's a nightmare incarnate I never want to see again!" I shouted, watching as a dark aura surrounded my negative counterpart.

"Yes, yes! Keep feeding me power with your emotions! Darkness and despair fuel me, increasing my strength ten-fold!"

I smirked, and found a hidden reserve of energy I didn't know I had. Using this newfound power, I created a version of Silver Lining neither of us had seen before. Forgoing the whole naming process, I was absolutely ready to fight Dark Me with this- No, MY version of Silver Lining. I held my blade in both hands, something I rarely did anymore, as I never had to get this serious. The Dark Me merely stood there, holding Rusted Edge with one hand. This fight wasn't going to be easy…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The quintet of girls were breathing hard, with various injuries all over their bodies. Serah had it the worse, having been fighting him the entire time, but Nora and Yang weren't far behind at all. Ruby and Blake had the least injuries, but they were still definitely hurt.

"How… Have you two… Beaten him like this?" Blake panted out, gripping Gambol Shroud so hard her knuckles were white. She couldn't wrap her head around the idea. Not even the heroes in some of her books, who were strong enough to beat entire armies without even moving, could stand against him.

Serah forced a smile. "He's never been this strong before. So this may be the only time I can call the previous version of him 'Weak'. Usually, I can distract him long enough for Lilly to finish the incantation, but since we're both a bit out of practice, it's gotten to this point."

Berserk Tsukino had barely any injuries, due to the fact that none of them wanted to actually hurt him. Nora was first to cave. "I think we may have to stop pulling our punches, girls, cuz he ain't budgin' an inch!"

Almost everyone agreed, with the only exceptions being Serah and Ruby. But another quick assessment told them that either they ramped things up, or they don't get back up. Nodding reluctantly, Ruby readied Crescent Rose, while Serah morphed her forearm into a razor sharp edge. The girls went on an all out assault, managing to score a couple serious blows and some minor ones as well.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

My Dark counterpart and I were in a deadlock struggle when our bodies were marked with mirrored wounds not inflicted by us. I wasn't used to having injuries magically appearing and causing me to lose blood, so I ended up losing the deadlock, and I was throw backwards. "What the hell is this?" I asked rhetorically, knowing that they had finally stopped going easy.

"Oh, it seems your worthless "friends" have realized the futility of unarmed combat," Dark Me confirmed, with this smug-ass smirk. "I think they mean to kill you."

Now, I don't usually admit this sort of thing, but that struck a deep chord in me. The rational, logical portion of my brain knew he was playing me and that my friends would never kill me. But the portion that held control was _not_ my logical portion. I felt my strength drain as the thought invaded my mind and took a deep hold, racking my brain until it was all I could think about. I heard another flare up, and saw Dark Me get yet ANOTHER power boost. His wounds were healing, while mine were worsening.

I dropped to my knees, ready to just give up and let him take control, let these people understand the mistake they made, but I shook away the thoughts. ' _Idiot! Those "people" are going to die if you don't pick your sorry ass up, grab your badass sword, and decimate the jackass in front of you!'_ A voice shouted in my head. Grabbing my blade, I got back up on shaky legs, clutching the wound that hurt the worst. "You gotta understand something, _**pal.**_ I don't lose to disgusting little _**infections like you. So grab your sword, grab your shit, and GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY BODY, YOU COCKY EGOTISTICAL JACKASS!**_ "

Our battle lasted only about twenty minutes, but it felt like five hours to me. Over the course, the girls kept keeping physical me distracted, so my metaphysical (fancy way of saying my body in my consciousness) body was really weak before I was on the ground again, with the tip of that horrid blade at my throat. He smirked again, this time the corners reaching his ears. "What was it you said, Tsuki? "You wouldn't lose to a disgusting little infection"? Well, I don't about you, but this looks very much like you've lost to me."

As much as I hate to admit it, that was how the scene was painted. I was on my knees, exhausted, with numerous slashes and some broken bones. Meanwhile, Dark Me was significantly less wounded, due to his boosted power and healing. I coughed up a bit of blood, and I laughed. "You know… you're right! It _does_ look like I've lost!" I exclaimed like a maniac. "But ya wanna know somethin', Evil Me? You really should pay more attention to my enemies."

His smirk faded and turned into a scowl. "What the hell are you-" He stopped when he noticed the shining orb at his feet. "Oh, you cheeky mother fu-"

"See ya, Silver Punk~!"

I think it's safe to assume that I won.

Ruby went in for another attack, slicing downward to his left shoulder, when his right hand _CAUGHT THE EDGE OF CRESCENT ROSE._ His hand began to bleed, but it didn't get cut in half. "Wh-What..?" She breathed out, scared of this newfound reacton speed.

"Jeez, Red, if I was an idiot, I'd think you were trying to cleave me in half." That smart aleck tone paired with the pure exhaustion led the scythe user to one conclusion:

"Tsukino! You're back to normal!"

Her voice rang out through the arena, and everybody who fought him collapsed and dropped their weapons. Lilly and Ruby hugged him, staining their clothes in more blood, while the other caught their breath. "Tsukino, you went-"

"What in the hell just happened!?"

Yang's head snapped to the voice's owner. "Weiss, not in front of Ruby!"

The Princess stomped right to Tsukino, glaring hatred into the boy. "Do you have any idea how much pain you've caused everyone?! You went all out on them when they held back! You could've killed someone, you know that!? Honestly, you're no better than that Cardin ass."

"Weiss, lay off of him! That wasn't actually Tsukino fighting them! He lost control against the Ox girl!" Lilly cried out. "He didn't know what he was doing!"

"I want to hear what he has to say in his own defense!" The white haired girl shouted back. "He very nearly killed the other three members of my team!"

Serah growled. "Don't you DARE shout at my little sister, Schnee. I get you're mad, that doesn't mean you get to take it out on her."

The tensions were rising between the girls before Tsukino cleared his throat. "Serah, back down. You're pretty pissed yourself, and I don't need more blood spilt today. Weiss, you're absolutely right. However, you've got a problem with me, and not my teammates. So take out whatever aggression you have on me, not them. You can do whatever you want, except kill me. Got that? You can beat me within an inch of my life, but you cannot kill me."

She growled, her grip on Myrtenaster turning her knuckles white as her hair. "What is your deal, huh? Why do you keep doing this?" There was a hint of a blush creeping up her cheeks, and they weren't sure why.

He cocked his head to the side, confused. "Doing what," he asked. "What are you talking about?"

Weiss scoffed, and placed her hands on her hips. "When you let other people dictate what you say and do, and you limit yourself in crazy ways! You did it with Blake, and now you're doing with me! I just want answers, Tsukino, and you're telling me it's perfectly fine if I pulverize you!"

"Oh, that." He sounded depressed, almost. "Ask the other two if you want answers. I've got stuff I need to work out." The cyan haired Berserker walked out of the Arena, slowly healing his wounds with magic.

Weiss looked to the sisters, to find that they were upset themselves. "What… What did he mean by that, you two?" Somehow, she knew she wasn't going to like the answer she got.

Serah sighed, and waved her younger sister over. "You all may as well sit around us. Maybe it would be better if you all heard it; won't have to repeat the story. But get comfy, it's a long one." All the other teams gathered around the Verron sisters, intrigued by Tsukino's vague answer and the sisters' response.

"I'm sure most of you are familiar, but just as a refresher, we had a third sister, Venus, whom we lost back in our world in an ambush. Tsukino tried to save her, but he failed. We… Well, if I'm being honest, we still harbor some buried hatred for him. We blamed his stupidity for getting Venus killed, and we still sort of do. Well, when he tried to make it up to us, he offered us the same thing he offered you, Weiss, with one difference. We could kill him, and he wouldn't hold it against us." Serah explained, and laughed grimly. "I was so ready and willing, too. Nearly went through with it before Lilly here stopped me. Regardless, the reason he does that is because he wants to let you get your grudges or something out, or to show he means well."

Blake nodded a bit. "That explains his deal with me…" She murmured, thinking about what she would've done if he'd broken that agreement.

Weiss was taken aback. "And that explains that offer… but I don't have a grudge against him, I just wanted to know why he nearly killed you all…"

Lilly crawled over to her, and tapped her leg. "Go ask him yourself. That's something he should tell you himself, not us," She said innocently, with a sad smile. "He's just outside the arena, by the southernmost entrance." The girl added.

The white haired Princess nodded, and walked to talk with Tsukino. "Tsukino," she began. "I want answers. And, I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier. I was distressed, and…. It wasn't right to blow up at you." She bowed, hoping this at least showed him she was being genuine.

"..Answers, huh..? If I tell you, you may not like what you hear.." Tsukino responded, depressed. "I blacked out against the Ox girl, and I got locked away in my consciousness. While I was trapped, a physical culmination of my darkest thoughts and desires took over and made me go berserk and try to kill everyone. I had to fight the Dark Me off to regain control, and the wounds my real body sustained were applied to my metaphysical body as well."

Weiss stared blankly. "...you know, it sounds like you made that up. But considering who you are, how you got here and where you came from, I'm going to believe your story."

"Well, that sure inspires a whole lotta confidence, Princess…"

She scoffed. "Let's just agree I am NOT the person to be doing this sort of thing. But you have to admit, your story does sound a little ludicrous. I mean, come _on_ , you were trapped in your consciousness? That sounds a bit suspicious, you kno-" She couldn't finish her sentence as he shot up, somehow managed to snatch Myrtenaster without her knowing, and held its point at her throat.

"Listen, Weiss. I'm not exactly in the best mood right now, and you constantly being pessimistic and trying to see the worst in people is not helping in the slightest. If you came out here just to call me a liar, now you've done that. So either you came out for a different reason, or you should be going back to the others and head back to Beacon." His tone was deadly, and scared her half to Hell.

"I-I just w-wanted to be sure y-you weren't going to do anything crazy i-is all," she managed to stutter out. "C-Could you p-please not stab me w-with my own weapon?" She added as an afterthought.

He handed her back her weapon, and sat again. "Sorry about that, Princess… Just thinking about what that Dark Me said… Gah, I'm such a dumbass! Why did I even believe him for a second?" He half shouted.

"W… What did he say, Tsukino?" Weiss asked cautiously. Seriously, she's never seen him this shaken up before. Even when they fought that Nevermore, he wasn't worried in the slightest. So whatever this Dark Tsukino said must've been some pretty messed up stuff.

"Well, for starters… He used the weapon form of Undead Serah."

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed the extra long chapter as makeup for my terrible uploading capabilities. Again, I'm really sorry about the time it took for me to put this thing together. I'll try not to take as long next time, alright?**

 **Anyways, please leave a review so I can take your ideas into account. I may even use some of them, so who knows? Maybe you'll see your input in a future chapter~~.**

 **That's enough from me for now. This has been your lovely author, Xeraphim, signing off. Tata~~!**


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